


When in Baltimore, baby.

by petitfangs



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Daddy Kink, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Protective Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara Being an Idiot, Shane Madej Is So Whipped, Size Kink, Slow Burn, Voice Kink, but a lovable kinky one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:07:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21848677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petitfangs/pseuds/petitfangs
Summary: The ghoul boys are back and they’re filming an ‘Unsolved Special’- a three part series on macabre legends and haunted sites of grizzly murders in Maryland.While filming, Ryan gets pursued by a guy that triggers his daddy kink tendencies- enthusiastic but clueless about kinks in general, he asks good ol’ Shane ‘sex Snapple’ Madej for some advice.Cue Shane helping Ryan navigate through his kinky self-discovery, while unknowingly making some discoveries about himself.(Rated E for later chapters)
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Original Male Character(s), Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 103
Kudos: 302





	1. Chapter 1

“ _Yes, I've been brokenhearted,_

_Blue, since the day we parted…_

_Why, why did I ever let you go?_ ”

Shane belted out to his cat, his one and only captive audience. Obi slow blinked, his expressive eyes looking bored. He’s not a very talkative cat--he’s more of a silent gentleman, happier giving exasperated looks whenever Shane’s singing to him. 

Shane didn’t mind. He’s in a good mood. Buzzfeed gave them the greenlight to do an Unsolved Special, something he and Ryan didn’t expect, especially after both of them decided to quit earlier this year and only remain on contracts for the show. It was a pleasant surprise, especially after the horror stories he’s heard from other creative personalities--but Ryan had always been good at meetings and all the negotiations, so the Unsolved team was pretty much intact. So far, everything was running smoothly, and now they have some down time before they get into the talks for a possible joint digital startup. 

All Shane knew about the Unsolved Special is that it’s going to be a three part series in Baltimore. He wasn’t informed much on what they were going to cover, since Ryan likes to keep him in the dark on these things--so that his reactions remain somewhat authentic. He’s fine with it thought--there’s something fun about not knowing what he will be doing. It’s like an adventure.

It was a week long trip, with a day or two break in between. It would’ve sounded exhausting just a year ago to him, but now he just feels excited, as well as relieved. He’s mostly introverted, but his empty apartment was getting to him, just a little bit. 

Other than Obi, Shane’s been alone in the apartment for a few weeks--Sara was shooting out of LA for a while, and then she went home to visit her family. Usually Shane would be invited along, but not this time. She left before his trip to Baltimore was finalized, so he knew it probably meant she’d rather go alone. 

He knew her well enough to surmise that she had some things on her mind, which she’s not sharing with him--but he’s fine with that. Needing some time apart from your significant other is healthy. Long term relationships, and all that. His modus operandi when things like this happen was to just let it ride. In a way, this trip seems like a relief, for both of them. Sooner or later, everything will go back to normal. 

They won’t be able to see each other before his flight, because she’ll only be back tomorrow afternoon. Obi would have to fend for himself for a couple of hours, but he’s a smart little fella, he’ll be fine. 

Shane rarely packed early, but this time he was all set--he was ready for a quiet, early night in. He caught himself humming the ABBA song again while preparing to make dinner--it’s such an ear worm. He sung it so often before to humour Ryan, keep the little guy smiling through his breakup so long ago. It was a pretty rough time in Ryan’s life--they were in the midst of filming and travelling, but Ryan had managed to keep it together in front of the camera, and only bawled off-screen. Shane didn’t know how to comfort people, but seeing Ryan like that got to him--he remembered really amping up his jokes, singing and dancing like a fool, just to make the little guy laugh. 

Shane defrosted the chicken, and started boiling water for the pasta. It felt a little strange making dinner just for himself, but they’re probably gonna eat a lot of junk on the road, so he should try to eat healthy. He’s approaching his mid thirties, he should really start making healthier choices in his life. 

Ryan would probably be eating some junk for dinner. For a guy that works out a lot, he still eats like a frat boy. Shane’s beginning to realize that his thoughts kept circling on Ryan, but that’s normal right? They’re going on a trip together, it’s natural to think about about him. 

He was just rinsing off tomatoes when his phone vibrated. He reached out for it, and saw that it was Ryan calling. He answered it, set it on speaker, and set it on the counter. 

“Hey, bud.”

“Hi,” Ryan replied, voice sounding a little raspy. Shane can hear the rustle of sheets in the background, like Ryan was still in bed. “You sound far away.” 

“You’re on loudspeaker, I’m about to chop tomatoes.”

“Oh.” There is a beat of silence. “What are you making?”

“Chicken parmesan pasta.”

“Nice. I’m probably just gonna order taco bell.”

“Really? Were going to eat trash on the road, you want taco bell to be your last meal at home?”

Shane could practically hear Ryan rolling his eyes through the phone.

“There’s no food at home.”

“You can order in.”

“Hm. Maybe I will. Pasta sounds good.”

“So order that.”

“It’s getting late. Take out pasta sucks.”

“Ryan, if you want to come over for dinner, you can just ask.”

“....Would that be ok?” There is a tentativeness in Ryan’s voice, something Shane seldom heard from him.

“Of course.”

“I don’t want to impose--”

“Ryan, just come over.”

Shane dumped more pasta in the pot, narrowly getting burnt from the splashing water. “I’m boiling an ungodly amount of pasta now, so you have to come over.”

“...Okay.” Ryan lets out a strained laugh. “Thanks man. I’ll be there soon.”

Shane thought he heard Ryan make a little sniffing sound before he hung up, but that’s probably just some random noise on his end. 

  
-  
  
  


Half an hour later, Shane heard a knock on the door. 

“It’s not locked.” he called out, still stirring the sauce. 

He heard Ryan shuffle through the door, coming in the kitchen.

“We investigate serial killers for a living, and you don’t even lock your door?”

“Well--” Shane paused, words caught in his throat when he finally got a good look at Ryan. His eyes were slightly red, his chipmunk cheeks look a little more. Chipmunk-ier. Puffy, like he’d been crying. 

“Nobody would dare rob Bigfoot’s house, I guess.” Ryan said, after seemingly realizing Shane wasn’t going to finish his sentence. He gave Shane a quick smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, before shying away from Shane’s gaze. Ryan stood awkwardly near the counter, drumming his fingers anxiously on it. 

He looked as flighty as Obi did, when they first got him from the shelter. 

Shane turned around, busied himself with draining the pasta. “Yup.” Shane replied nonchalantly. ”Can you get the plates?” 

Ryan started grabbing plates and utensils, navigating in Shane’s kitchen as easily as his own. 

Once the table was set, they both sat down and started eating.

Ryan ate with gusto, practically inhaling the pasta.

Shane let out a little laugh. “Slow down, man.”

“It’s so good.” Ryan moaned, mouth full, eyes closed. “I haven’t eaten all day. Got caught up with some stuff.”

“You gotta start taking better care of yourself, Ryan.”

Ryan gave a non-commital grunt. 

They kept up a steady stream of small talk, touching only a little bit on work stuff. It was impossible not to, especially since it’s always at the back of their minds--well, mostly Ryan’s mind. Shane could see Ryan visibly relaxing. Their chat evolved into one of their usual inane debates, which led to Shane grabbing beers from the fridge for both of them and ushering the younger man into the living room. They ended up watching a random alien footage that Ryan was dead set on convincing him was real. 

“This... has obviously been photoshopped to high heaven.” 

“It was the sixties! They couldn’t have done that back then--”

“You’re saying not one person in the sixties could have doctored pictures?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying--”

“Star Trek was in the sixties, there’s people who definitely know how to do it.”

“Okay… you might have a point there.” 

Ryan stretched out on the sofa, chugging the rest of his beer. Shane started opening two more for them, and saw Obi creeping towards the sofa. He finally felt comfortable enough to come out, and was nudging Ryan’s leg, letting out a little meow. Ryan was slightly allergic, but it never stopped him from petting Obi, who immediately started purring. 

“Good boy.” Ryan said softly. 

Shane took a swig of his beer, eyeing Ryan. “Did you know a cat’s purr is healing?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Apparently they vibrate at a frequency that could heal bones, anxiety... etcetera. Cuddling cats can be very therapeutic.”

“Oh, cool.” Ryan suddenly picked Obi up, putting him on his lap. “Purr away, buddy. Give me some of your healing vibrations,” Ryan said with a small laugh. 

Shane stared at him for a beat, before giving into his concern. “Hey. You okay?” Shane asked, then mentally kicking himself for not having any tact.

Ryan stayed quiet, still petting Obi, his eyes downcast. 

Shane was about to change the subject, when Ryan finally replied.

“Mari broke up with me.” 

_Oh._

“Damn. That sucks man.” Shane said. He then kept quiet, waiting for Ryan to continue. 

“You know what’s weird? I’m not even upset. I mean, yeah, I was upset, but it’s more like, I’m disappointed.”

“Disappointed?” 

“Yeah, that it didn’t work out. I thought I was putting in the effort, you know?”

“You did. You travelled whenever she’s on location, even when swamped with work. You put in a lot of effort. It’s--I’m sure it’s not you, bud.” Shane didn’t really know why he felt compelled to say that. He didn’t know much about their relationship, but from what he could see, Ryan was an attentive boyfriend. 

Ryan sniffed. “Well, it wasn’t enough.” 

Shane stayed quiet, not sure what to say. 

Ryan cleared his throat, taking a small sip of his beer. “I didn’t mean to dump this on you man, sorry.”

“Hey, you didn’t--I asked.”

“I just. Why are relationships so hard?”

“Long distance relationships are always hard, man. Don’t beat yourself up on it.”

“True,” Ryan says, but his voice seems a little hollow. He sighed and leaned back again on the couch, gazing up at the ceiling. “Or maybe I’m just a shitty boyfriend in general.”

“Ryan,” Shane sighs. “You’re not a shitty boyfriend.”

“I’ve been dumped in all of my relationships, dude.”

“Well--not all. Your relationship with Mimsy is still going strong.” 

Ryan’s lips quirked a little when he said that, so Shane continued.

“You even got her to marry you. See; you’re boyfriend _and_ husband material.”

“Technically you and Kelsey got a ghost to marry me. And that’s only after like, a dozen tries.”

“Nope, that was all you. Okay, technically it’s Sim-you--but he’s like an identical copy of you. Erratic, hot-headed, sexy, ghost-magnet Bergara. You’re a catch.”

“Shut up, Shane.” 

The corner of Ryan’s mouth twitched upward a little, just for a second. The younger man kept petting Obi, who was somehow still calmly sitting on his lap. 

Ryan sighed. “I guess I’m just tired, man. Tired of falling in love, and having it fizzle out. Tired of looking for someone to love, and for them to love me.”

They were quiet for a minute, just drinking theirs beers, listening to Obi purr. 

Shane scrubs a hand over his face, clearing his throat. 

“Look, it’s not my place to say this. But maybe… Maybe just take a break. You don’t have to actively look for love. As cliche as it sounds, it just happens. Sometimes good things just look for you. You just--gotta go with the flow. The love train will come.” Shane finished lamely. He runs a hand through his hair and mustered what he hoped was a reassuring smile when Ryan looks at him. 

Ryan looked thoughtful for a moment, before he huffed out a small laugh.

“Shit, okay. I’ll do nothing, and wait for the love train. Any more advice, Love Guru Madej?”

Shane snorted. “None at the moment.” 

“No, for real, though--I’m actually happy to take advice from you, cause you’re good at it. You’ve got it all figured out. I mean, you and Sara. I wish I had something like that.”

Shane was quiet for a moment, running his fingers through his hair and not quite meeting Ryan’s eyes. 

Ryan grabbed another beer. “Okay, let’s not talk about it anymore, it’s pathetic. I mean, I’m pathetic--”

“No--come on. No more of that self depreciating talk. You’re great. Anyone who doesn’t see that, well- it’s their loss. I know, first hand, that you are one hundred percent that bitch.”

A smile flitted in the corners of Ryan’s mouth briefly, before he rolled his eyes at him. 

“Come on. Say it.”

“No, I’m not gonna say it”

“Say I, Ryan Steven Bergara, am one hundred percent _that bitch_ ”

“I’m not gonna, it’s so stupid--” 

“Say it!”

“ _Fine_ , I, Ryan Bergara--”

“Steven--”

“What the--fine, I, Ryan Steven Bergara...am one hundred percent that bitch.” Ryan lets out a little wheeze, a beautiful, uncomplicated sound that fills Shane with warmth. 

“Good. Let’s drink to that, cheers.”

-

Four beers later, Shane was furiously trying to beat Ryan on Mario Kart. The little dude has won three times in a row somehow--he didn’t remember being this bad at this. 

“Wooo! Fuck yeah”

… And he lost again. 

“You--shut up, that--”

“Bested by the Ry-Guy, once again--”

“Oh, I was going easy on you--” 

“Do you hear that? It’s the excuse train coming-” Ryan teased, theatrically cupping his ear, nearly spilling his half empty beer bottle.

“Oh shit--I think I’m a little drunk.” Ryan giggled, steadying his bottle on the coffee table. 

Shane fished out his phone from the side of the couch, and saw that it was almost one in the morning. 

Ryan leaned over and made an audible noise when he saw the time as well. 

“Shit, it’s late. Our flight’s early, I better go.”

“Stay.” Shane blurts out. “We can drop by your place for your stuff tomorrow.”

“No-I don’t want to impose--”

“Ryan I’m not letting you drive home drunk.”

“...Okay you’re right, thanks.”

“Great, give me a sec--” 

Shane went into the bathroom, taking out a brand new toothbrush and setting it on the sink. He then went to his cabinet for the spare pillows and duvet.

When he came back to the living room, he saw that Ryan had cleared out their beer bottles, throwing them in the recycling bin near the sink. Shane leaned idly against the counter, watching Ryan rinse out their plates and put them in the dishwasher. The sight was strangely domestic, Shane noted; he’s not averse to it. 

After Ryan finishes drying his hands, he turned around to look at Shane, shivering a little. 

“Dude, is it just me, or is your apartment like, really cold.” 

“Oh yeah, there’s a problem with the heater.” Shane said apologetically. “You want me to get you more blankets?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I’m just gonna borrow this, okay.” Without waiting for a reply, he took Shane’s sweater hanging on the dining chair and slipped it on. It was a little loose on Shane, so it completely dwarfed Ryan. 

Ryan walked towards him, wobbling only a little bit, before taking the bedding from Shane with a small _thanks_. Shane knew he was being a little weird, staring at Ryan while he’s making a little nest on the sofa. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the younger man in his sweater, the oversized sleeves flapping as he fluffed the pillow. 

Ryan finally settled in, curling up on the couch. He rubbed his eyes, his hair sticking up endearingly. 

_Adorable._

Oh boy, Shane was positive that he was definitely more than a little tipsy if he was having thoughts like that.

Shane was startled out of his reverie when Ryan made a little questioning sound at him.

“I, uh--I put out a toothbrush for you in the bathroom.”

“Thanks, Shane.”

“No prob.” 

“No, I mean. Thanks. For tonight. For letting me ramble on about my shitty love life.” Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, which has gone blotchy with embarrassment. “For-for being here for me.” 

Shane cleared his throat, ignoring the strange fluttery feeling in his stomach. “It’s not a big deal, man, it’s fine. Won’t be the first time. Probably won’t be the last, either.” Shane added, because he’s an asshole.

Ryan snorted good naturedly. “Okay, dipshit.” 

“It’s a chore, but hey, we took an oath, right. Gotta look out for my ghoulfriend.”

“Oh God, please don’t call me that--”

“Why not? You said it yourself, you’re my _ghoulfriend._ ”

“I said that before realizing it’s like a pun on girlfriend.”

“Nah, that’s a title you’ve bestowed on yourself, and I agree wholeheartedly. Ghoulfriend.”

Ryan groaned.

“Is there anything else you need, ghoulfriend?”

“Goddamnit, Shane-”

“Perhaps a little spooky bedtime story? Wait no, can’t have you screaming for your papa in the middle of the night. Maybe a song--”

“Please don’t--”

Shane started doing a little jig, singing-

“ _Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime, summertime gal…_ ”

Ryan’s just wheezing now, tucking his face in his elbow. 

_“Send me a kiss by wire, by wire, baby, my heart’s on fire, on fire.”_

“It’s so bad, please stop.” Ryan wheezed, burying his face into the pillow before erupting into giggles.

He had to laugh at that--Ryan is full of shit, Shane knows he could carry a tune--but Ryan laughing is always contagious. 

“Goodnight Ryan.”

“Night.” 

-

Shane got into bed, setting his alarm a little bit earlier, so they’ll have time to beat the morning rush and stop by Ryan’s place before heading to the airport. It was pretty late, and he was a shade too drunk--so much for an early night in. He didn’t regret it though. Tonight was nice. 

He never realized how empty the apartment felt during the past week, until Ryan came over. Maybe he was lonelier than he thought. 

He heard a faint sound through the wall--Ryan was humming the Tin Pan Alley jingle. Shane closed his eyes, singing along in his head. 

_If you refuse me, honey, you lose me_

_And you'll be left alone, oh baby_

_Telephone, and tell me, tell me_

_Tell me I'm your very own._

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer- This is fiction, obvs there’s no breakups IRL. Also, mad respect for their SO’s, they’re both lovely.
> 
> Any breakups in this fic is going to be written in a respectful & chill way, because I don’t see that in fics often. My ex & I (4 years) outgrew each other and had an amicable split- we’re still good friends till now. It’s possible, and quite common. 
> 
> Fun fact- I’ve drafted this before the boys did the Watcher reveal. I had a feeling that they might quit and start their own company, but I didn’t realise they would do it so soon, and with the lovely Steven Lim as well. This was not Steven erasure, I assure you lol
> 
> But for the sake of the fic, let’s pretend in this alternate reality, the boys just quit buzzfeed, and are only just looking for sponsorships for a possible joint venture.  
> [my tumblr](https://the-czar.tumblr.com)


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan quickly towelled off, haphazardly pulling on his jeans and throwing on a pink hoodie. He looked in the mirror and cursed; his hair was still a little wet, and it was beginning to poof in messy waves. There’s not enough time to fix it, but maybe he can comb in a little pomade…

“Ryan!” 

Ryan jumped a little at hearing Shane shouting his name down the hall, his comb clattering on the floor. 

“Jesus--okay, I’m coming!” Ryan answered, giving up on the thought of taming his hair. He took one last look around his room. Thank God he packed his bag before going to Shane’s yesterday. They both had slept through their alarms, and were running a little over schedule. He had driven both of them back to his place, so he could get ready and grab all his stuff before sharing a Lyft to the airport. 

Ryan grabbed his rolling suitcase and boots, rushing out of his room.

“The Lyft’s here, put your shoes on.” Shane ordered, taking hold of both their bags and carrying it downstairs. 

Ryan slipped on his boots and rushed down the steps, narrowly stumbling on his untied laces.

They got in the lyft, and luckily made it to the airport in the nick of time. 

Ryan could only breathe a sigh of relief when they queued to board. 

“It’s a good thing were not checking anything in.” Ryan noted, glancing up at Shane, who’s busy typing on his phone.

“Yeah. So no holy water this time?” Shane asked, eyes still on his phone.

“I have my holy water keychain.” Ryan replied proudly, patting his pocket. Honestly, he should have thought of it ages ago. He’s grateful for the fan that gave it to him. It was such practical and thoughtful gift. 

“Ah yes. So a little vial of it is enough for a big, bad demon?” Shane teased. 

“Shut up, Shane.” Ryan answered automatically.

“So hypothetically, you actually think a tiny drop would be enough to vanquish a whole ass demon--”

“Well--it probably can, you’ll never know. Don’t underestimate tiny things, big boy.” Ryan cut him off, grinning up at him, because he knew for some reason Shane always get flustered whenever he called him that.

Shane’s hand stuttered a little on his phone, before sliding it into his pocket. The older man finally looked at him, expression annoyed, but tinged with fondness. 

“Sure thing, little guy.” 

-

Ryan took the window seat, waving at TJ and Devon on the opposite aisle when he spotted them. They had to check in some equipment, so they boarded earlier. Ryan buckled his seat belt, and saw clouds darkening through the window. LA was about to be hit with rain, just as soon as they were leaving. Ryan turned around to mention it to Shane, but the older man was already dozing off, air pods in, eyes fluttering shut. 

Ryan felt a little twinge of guilt--he knew it was entirely his fault, that Shane’s tired for the flight. He felt like he should apologise, but he’s sure Shane won’t hear of it. Shane can definitely be a jackass sometimes, on and off camera, but most of the time--he’s truly a great friend. He’s happy for the random chain of events and coincidences that led him to meeting Shane, in Buzzfeed, of all places. 

Ryan closed his eyes, smiling a little. He’s beginning to sound like a skeptic--Shane was the one that would call them meeting a coincidence, but Ryan knew deep down what it was.

Fate.

With that thought, he’s lulled into a light sleep, with the sound of the plane engines and Shane snoring in his ears.    


-

Ryan repeated the coffee orders in his head, making sure he remembered them all correctly. Everyone was waiting in the rental car. Teej had volunteered to drive them up to the hotel, Devon was busy coordinating something on the phone, and Shane was so bleary eyed he could pass as a zombie. So, yeah, Ryan volunteered to do the coffee run. 

He stepped in the rustic café, noting the unreasonable dimness of the warm artificial lights. There was quite a lot of people in the café. Ryan gave his order to the barista, and then promptly started walking off to a corner to wait. He knew it would take a while, so he might as well answer some emails.

Ryan was so engrossed in his phone, that he didn’t realize he was walking near a wet floor sign. Before he knew it, his feet slip right under him, but instead of landing on the floor, he felt his back meet someone’s chest. The stranger made a sound like the wind was knocked out of him, his arms automatically coming up around Ryan’s waist, balancing the both of them so they didn’t topple over.

“‘Fuck, sorry, shit, I didn’t see the sign,” Ryan rambled, embarrassed, planting his feet more surely on the ground. It took him a second to realize the stranger hasn’t let go of him. 

He turned around in the strangers arms, about to apologise again, but the words got stuck in his throat when he met the man’s intense gaze. 

The stranger was a little taller than him, with medium brown hair, and piercing blue eyes that were practically boring into his soul. 

Ryan cleared his throat, breaking off their eye contact with a slight cough. “Um. Sorry for that. Uh--can you...” he trailed off, squirming a little in the man’s hold. 

That seemed to snap the guy out of his reverie, finally letting him go. “Sorry. Are you ok?” 

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.. sorry I fell on you.”

“Oh, that’s okay. It’s not everyday an angel falls into my arms.” 

Ryan blinked up at him, mouth slightly agape.  _ Was this guy for real?  _

The stranger’s eyes widened, as if he himself couldn’t believe what he just said. “Okay--that came out a little strong. My coffee hasn't kicked in yet--I’m usually more eloquent than this.” the stranger said, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. 

The stranger held out his hand. “Let’s try this again. My name’s Shane. What’s yours?”

Ryan’s mouth quirked at the name. “I’m Ryan. Nice to meet you.” he replied, shaking his hand firmly.

“Likewise. So uh, I’ve never seen you around here before.” 

“Yeah, it’s my first time here.” 

“I can tell. I would have definitely remembered seeing you.” 

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “You remember everyone who comes here?” 

“Nope--but I never forget a beautiful face.” Other-Shane replied easily. 

Ryan flushed, feeling a little mortified at this point. 

“Okay, um.” Ryan paused, feeling a laugh bubbling up at the sheer ridiculousness of the compliment. “I, uh--I’m not sure that’s something you should say to someone you just met.” 

Other-Shane's lips twitched into a playful smile. “Really? I’m finding it hard to believe that no one has ever fallen head over heels, the second they saw you.” 

Ryan couldn’t help but guffaw at that, ducking his head, feeling a blush creep down his neck. He looked up and saw the man’s blue eyes shining with mirth, like he’s having a jolly good time flustering Ryan. 

“And such a cute laugh too. Damn, the whole entire package.” 

“Okay, if you don’t stop this, I’m walking away.” Ryan quipped, fighting the urge to blush again.

“Sorry, sorry.” Other-Shane held his hands up, smirking a little. “Too much?”

“Yeah, a little. Um--but thanks, I guess...” he said, grimacing a little, not quite happy with the words that left his mouth--he was bad at responding to compliments gracefully. 

“My pleasure. So, Ryan.. how long are you in town for?”

“Um. About a week. I’m here with some friends for work.” 

“Ah, I see.” Other-Shane made a little noise of disappointment. “So, uh. Since it’s your first time here, maybe I can take you out for a drink?” 

Ryan’s eyes widened a little. He fidgeted, biting his lip, unsure how to respond. 

“Ryan? Ryaaaan….” Ryan heard a familiar, sleepy sounding voice calling out for him. He turned around, and sure enough it was Shane at the door, still looking very much like the undead, with his bleary eyes and wild hair. 

Ryan let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. “I’m right here.” Ryan said. Shane squinted a little, before ambling towards him. 

Ryan felt himself panicking for no reason. “What are you doing in here? You don’t have to come in, I’ll be out in a bit.” Ryan said hastily. 

“I have to pee. Where’s our coffee?” Shane demanded irritably. 

“They’re still making it. I’ll get them, you go ahead.” 

Shane answered with a grunt and made no further reply. He looked strangely at the other Shane for a bit, before shrugging and making a beeline for the restroom. 

As soon as Shane left, he heard the barista finally call out his name. Ryan walked over to the counter, grabbing the cardboard carrier filled with hot coffees carefully, while holding the iced latte in his other hand. 

“Do you need help with that?” Ryan heard the other Shane asking behind him. 

“That’s okay, I got it.” 

“So, uh, that your friend?”

“Yeah.” Ryan said, shuffling his feet inanely. “His name is Shane too” Ryan added, apropos of nothing. 

Other-Shane made a sound of acknowledgement, before staring at Ryan expectantly. Ryan belatedly realized he hasn’t responded to his earlier question. 

“Um… I’m gonna be pretty busy working,” Ryan responded hesitantly, biting his lip. 

“I understand. How about dinner instead?” Other-Shane asked. 

“I’m... on a tight deadline. And, my hours are weird...” Ryan dithered. 

“Lunch then. Breakfast, whatever you want.” Other-Shane continued, undeterred. 

Ryan felt himself wavering, just a little bit.

Other-Shane had to have sensed it, because he slowly leaned in closer, crowding Ryan against the counter. “Come on, beautiful. A growing boy like you gotta eat sometime.” Shane murmured, his voice low and teasing. 

Ryan caught himself making a small, choked off noise. He felt mortified, hoping the other man didn’t hear it, but from the look of Other-Shane’s darkening, almost predatory gaze, Ryan guessed he definitely did. 

Ryan felt his cheeks heat up again. “Shane.” he managed, sounding stilted and uncertain.

“I don’t think--I don’t know...” he trailed off. Ryan lowered his eyes, feeling anxious, a little at a loss for words.

Other-Shane seemed to sense his discomfort. He stepped back, giving Ryan his personal space.

“Alright, I can take a hint.” Other-Shane relented, looking slightly ashamed of himself. “ Sorry, I’ll leave you alone--”

“I’ve never dated a guy before,” Ryan blurted out. He didn’t wait for a response before continuing. “I mean, I’ve kissed guys before in college, but I’ve never dated any of them.” 

Ryan’s heart was beating a mile a minute but he couldn’t stop, it was like word vomit. “I’ve also just broken up with someone, you’re hot and all but I don’t think I’m ready--” he paused, eyes going wide, sputtering “I mean--I’m not saying that you asking me out for dinner means were going to go steady or something, but um--”

“Okay beautiful, I get it,” Other-Shane cut him off, hands touching Ryan’s shoulder lightly, steadying the smaller man. “Breathe, breathe.” If the man was amused or surprised by Ryan’s sudden outburst, he didn’t show it.

Ryan took a deep breath, feeling the desire to hyperventilate ebb away. “What I meant to say was--I uh. Yeah. Never dated a dude. No idea what to do. You’re--” Ryan paused, before sighing. “You’ll probably be disappointed,” he finished, lowering his gaze again. 

He felt Other-Shane place a finger under his chin, lifting it up to meet his eyes. 

“Doubt you can ever disappoint me,” he said gently, amusement in his eyes. “As for everything else you just said. We can take it slow, if you want.” His finger trailed slowly under Ryan’s jawline. “We can do whatever you want, angel,” he said softly, eyes dark but sincere. 

Whatever excuse Ryan had died down in his throat. Ryan shivered a little, closing his eyes at the sudden rush of heat on his face again. 

“Tell you what. You don’t have to decide right now,” he said lightly. “What if I just give you my number?” 

“Okay.” Ryan replied with relief, before realizing that both his hands were occupied. “Um--” 

“Ah--wait, I think I have--” Other-Shane took out his business card from his wallet, pausing for a second. “ Can I put this in your pocket?”

“Yeah, sure.” Ryan said, thinking Shane was going to put it in the pocket of his hoodie, but the man leaned close and reached behind him instead. 

Ryan gasped, feeling the man brazenly slip the card into the back pocket of his jeans. The man’s hand didn’t linger, but the sheer boldness of it was enough to make Ryan turn fire engine red. 

“Call me.” Other-Shane said, eyes teasing and voice laced with intent. 

Ryan jerked a nod, not trusting his own voice.

“Ready to go?” He heard Shane’s voice behind him, sounding a little more awake. Ryan whipped his head, just in time to see Shane’s steps falter, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the two of them.

Ryan can objectively see the strange picture they’re making at the moment. Ryan, red faced, both hands occupied with coffee while a tall stranger looms over him, his hand just leaving the back pocket of Ryan’s jeans. 

Ryan collected himself, willing his face to be less red. “Um. Shane, this is Shane. We uh. Just met.” Ryan said awkwardly. 

“Hi.” Other-Shane said cooly, glancing at the other for a second before flickering his blue eyes back on Ryan. 

“Hi.” Shane responded, voice sounding a little terse. He paused for a bit, before turning towards Ryan as well. “So. Was he frisking you for spare change, or--” Shane asked bluntly before Ryan cut him off by hastily shoving the cardboard carrier in his hands. 

“Right. Can you please carry that, thanks.” Ryan said abruptly, nudging the tall idiot towards the door. Ryan turned around belatedly, meeting the other Shane’s eyes briefly. “Um. Bye.” 

The other Shane seemed unfazed by Shane’s comment. He gave Ryan a little wink. 

“See you around, angel.” 

Ryan couldn’t have left the cafe fast enough.    


-

They were barely five feet away from the entrance when he felt Shane nudge his side. 

“Ryan, what was  _ that _ all about--”

“Oh. Shush, you.” Ryan admonished irritably, not in the mood for any teasing.

“No, I want to know--” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Ryan said loudly, walking even faster. 

“Okay, fine.” Shane said. Ryan almost let himself believe that would be the end of it, but he could practically feel the curiosity vibrating off Shane’s entire being. 

Ryan took a deep breath, just as Shane started to ask “Can you just tell me  _ why _ was he touching your butt--” 

_ “ _ Jesus christ _ \-- _ that’s not what he was doing--”

“I saw his hand hovering on your left butt cheek. Now, I know you have a thing for butt stuff--”

“ _ Oh my god-- _ ” 

“--But letting a stranger grope your butt is a little too much... it’s one thing to get handsy in the club, but in a coffee shop, in broad daylight? That’s a bit--”

“He wasn’t. Groping. My Butt. My hands were full, so he put his business card in my pocket.” Ryan explained, exasperated, wishing the sky would fall and crush them, ending his humiliation. 

“Oh Ryan.” Shane reprimanded, in his usual, condescending tone. “Can’t believe you fell for such a blatant ruse. You just got felt up, buddy.” He tutted, shaking his head.

“Were not talking about this. Ever again. Understand?” Ryan said flatly. He shot a murderous look at the taller man, tilting his chin, daring him to disagree. 

Shane side eyed him, before breathing out a disappointed sigh. “Alright.” he relented, finally. 

They both got into the car without a word. 

Ryan plugged in his headphones, closing his eyes for a moment. He could feel the older man staring at him, but he didn’t say anything. 

It wasn’t until Teej was blaring out the radio, that Ryan felt Shane nudge him with his foot.

‘You’re going to throw that card away, right?”

“ _ Shut up _ , Shane.”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta-ed by @loveontherocks ( real talk, if she didn't volunteer to beta this I would have never written it. She's wonderful.)


	3. Chapter 3

Ryan took out his travel kit and laptop, not bothering to unpack the rest of his suitcase. Shane was napping on the bed by the window, so Ryan quietly got in the other one, opening up his laptop, looking through his urgent emails while making some last minute adjustments to his script for their shoot tomorrow. 

He was pretty excited for this one--they were going to go to the John Hopkins University, where the infamous Dr. Hans Lecter taught. He was a serial killer and a cannibal that was never caught--the police only found out about his murders because they received an anonymous tip. When the police came to the Doctor’s office on campus with a warrant, they saw no sign of him, but instead saw a large volume of blood sprayed on the wall, and all over the floors. The blood was all Lecter’s. However, his body was never found. The amount of blood led the police to believe that Lecter was killed there, and his body taken away. To this day, they were never able to find out what happened to him. 

They were actually going to his ‘office’ tomorrow. ‘Office’, because the place has actually been torn down and renovated into a library. People have said that there were strange, spooky occurrences in the library, either due to the ghosts of Lecter’s victims, whom were theorized to have been murdered there, or maybe even the ghost of Lecter himself. Eitherway, the ghoul boys were going to check it out. 

Ryan was naturally excited, if not a little terrified. One of the strange (and completely implausible, Shane would say) theories was that Dr. Lecter was a wendigo; a demon that ate people for sustenance. Ryan won’t say that he was one hundred percent on board with that theory, but it does send a chill up his spine, and make him thankful that he had his holy water with him. 

He checked his back pocket, making sure the vial was still there. His hand skimmed over a little card--he got confused for a moment before remembering exactly what that was. Ryan took Other-Shane’s business card out, finally looking at it. 

John Hopkins University 

Assc Prof Shane Manseau

Department of Archeology and Anthropology

410-506-7666

Well, isn’t that a coincidence. Ryan stared at the business card for a moment, before deciding to enter the number into his phone. 

_R: So an archaeologist huh? I’m a little surprised you didn’t hit me with any corny pickup lines._

Almost immediately, he could see Other-Shane started typing.

_S: I didn’t want to push my luck too hard. Your face might be angelic, but your guns look like they definitely could pack a punch._

Ryan grinned.

_S: By the way, I’m just a teacher, really. I tell my students about bones, not go digging for them myself._

_R: Oh, too bad. That would’ve been kinda hot._

_S: Damn. Well, I’ll quit my job right now and start digging up old bones, if it means I get to have you by my side._

Ryan smiles. 

_R: That was so corny._

Other-Shane didn’t reply, but a few minutes later he received a GIF of two skeletons holding hands, with the caption ‘ _I find you quite humerus. Want to bone?’_

“Wow. _Smooth_.” Shane said, his sleep-laden voice laced with sarcasm. 

Ryan made a little noise, quickly covering his phone screen from Shane’s line of vision. “I thought you were asleep--stop looking at my phone, you weirdo.” 

“It was an accident.” Shane yawned. “Why are you talking to that douchebag?”

“He’s not a douchebag.” 

“Molesting someone immediately after meeting them is douchebag behaviour, Ryan.” 

“He wasn’t--” Ryan sighed, rubbing his eyes. It was pointless arguing with Shane on it. “Whatever, man.”

There was a beat of silence between them. Ryan heard his phone vibrate, but he didn’t look at it. He looked at the script on his laptop instead, hearing Shane’s bones pop when he stretched out on the bed. 

“So. Uh.” Shane began, conversationally before pausing. 

“What?” 

“Nothing, nevermind.”

“Shane, what is it?”

“Nothing, I just--it’s definitely none of my business.”

“Just spit it out--”

“I didn’t realize you were into men.” 

Ryan paused. “You’re right, that is none of your business,” he said, pretending to be appalled. 

Shane turned red and sputtered for a moment. He huffed and threw a pillow at Ryan when he started laughing, realizing the younger man was joking. 

“You asshole. Okay. Guess I should’ve figured it out, when you were waxing poetry about Bradley Coopers’ muscles.” 

“A guy can be one hundred percent straight and still appreciate what a hunk Cooper is, man.” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

Ryan was glad that Shane didn’t make a big deal out of it. He didn’t realize how much he valued the man’s casual acceptance over anything. He wished he had Shane’s easy, almost cavalier attitude when it comes to sexuality--Shane was bi, and pretty much everyone who knows him personally is aware of it. The older man didn’t broadcast it, but he’d never hidden it either.

Ryan never bothered to mention his own preferences to people, because it never really came up. He spent most of his college life thinking he was straight, with some heteroflexible tendencies. He knew he had some ways to go in unlearning some internalised bullshit, but he was slowly getting more comfortable with himself. He told Shane as much. 

Shane looked thoughtful for a moment, before flashing him a reassuring smile. “Hey. It’s fine. You’re young, take your time. Get to know yourself. Plenty of time to discover all sorts of things about yourself, man.” 

Ryan chuckled. “Okay, solid advice from the Love Guru Madej, as always. You should really write a book at this point.” 

Shane didn’t respond, only gave him a slight laugh, an unreadable smile playing on his lips. 

Ryan got back to his script, feeling warm inside. 

-

Devon saw on Yelp that there was a great restaurant / bar nearby that they just had to check out. The place was a little further than they thought, but it had an interesting mismatch of aesthetics--1920’s speakeasy vibes, but with a gothic twist. 

The food had been amazing--Devon and Teej had ordered blue crab, while he and Shane decided to split a blue crab and roasted corn pizza. He was apprehensive at first, but it had actually tasted delicious. Shane, Devon and Ryan had all ordered different signature cocktails, and even managed to rope Teej into trying one. 

They fell into their usual chatter, just enjoying each other’s company. Devon was laughing, Shane was razzing Teej on something or other, which led Teej to throwing some sauerkraut at him. Shane ducked, but still managed to get some of it on his hair. 

“Shane, come here,” Ryan said, giggling, leaning over to his friend. “Bend down a little.” 

Shane ducked, so Ryan could reach the top of his head. The younger man put both his hands on Shane’s hair, sweeping bits of sauerkraut off it. 

“This is getting pretty long.” Ryan noted absently. He’s a little buzzed, that’s probably why he hasn’t realized he’s tousling the soft mop of hair a little. 

“Yeah. Should I cut it?” 

“No.” Ryan answered, a little too quickly. “It looks good.” 

“Good. I wasn’t planning to.” Shane said, and it might have been Ryan’s imagination, but it felt like the older man was leaning into his touch. 

“Good.” Ryan echoed, finally taking his hands off his hair. He looked at Shane, and saw that the older man was staring at him. 

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Ryan asked, hand coming up to his cheek.

“No. Just. Happy to be here, man.” Shane said, smiling a little. Ryan felt strange knots in his stomach, not entirely sure why. 

“Aww.” Devon said, and that snap both of them back in the moment.

“How many of these did you kids have?” Teej teased, shaking a cocktail glass at them. 

Ryan turned to Shane, knowing the older man probably had a fun retort ready, but instead saw his eyes zero in something behind Ryan’s shoulder. A sliver of irritation crossed over his face. Ryan whipped his head around to see why, and-- _oh_. 

Shane Manseau was here. 

The waitress had just ushered him and his friends towards the balcony. He saw him turn down a cigarette from his friend, taking out a vaporiser instead.

It was such a coincidence, that Ryan couldn’t help but take out his phone, sending him a picture of an outdated meme

_ ‘We get it, you vape.” _

Ryan saw the moment the message was sent, because the man had straight away taken his phone out. Upon seeing the message, he instantly looked up, eyes scanning the room. His blue eyes fell on Ryan immediately, and he gave a surprised, pleased smile, which Ryan returned. 

Ryan felt his heart thump a little, and had only moments to recollect before he saw that the man and his friends were walking towards their table. 

“Hey. What are the odds that you would show up at my favourite bar?” he said to Ryan with a grin, his blue eyes crinkling at the corners. 

“Quite high, since our hotel is just a few blocks away.” Shane said dryly, his voice clipped with some strange, false friendly tone that Ryan had never heard from him before. 

There was a bit of an awkward pause at that, which Ryan scrambled to rectify. 

“Um. Guys, this is Shane Maseau--he’s uh, a professor at the John Hopkins University. We met earlier when I was at that coffee place.” Ryan added. “Shane, this is Devon, TJ. and uh. You’ve met Shane.” Ryan said, gesturing towards Shane, who only nodded towards him. 

“Nice to meet you all.” Other-Shane said easily, shaking everyone’s hands. “These are my colleagues, Asad and Emika.” 

“Welcome to Baltimore!” Asad said, his big, booming voice heard clearly even through the moderately noisy bar. He immediately started asking all of them if they had tried the signature craft Struise beers, which Teej responded by lamenting that they didn’t, but that sounded amazing. 

That led to Asad suggesting to Other-Shane that he should buy a round for the whole table, as he apparently lost a bet with them at the faculty, and was supposed to pay for drinks that night. 

“Waitress! Struisers for the whole table.” Asad announced, taking a seat beside Teej, who immediately made room for him. 

“Asad, you can’t just invite yourself--” Other-Shane admonished him, shooting all of them an apologetic look. “Sorry, excuse him, he’s an eccentric dude--we don’t mean to intrude--” 

“No, it’s fine, join us! The more the merrier.” Teej said amicably, and soon everyone was seated. The waitress immediately brought each of them a foaming glass of vivid, amber liquid that smelled deliciously like roasted coffee and butterscotch. 

“To new friends!” Asad declared happily, which they all echoed before toasting. 

“Sorry, he’s always like this. I really didn’t mean to spring this on you and your friends.” Other-Shane whispered to Ryan, close to his ear. 

Ryan just smiled, shaking his head. “It’s fine.” Ryan took a sip of the beer, noting the strong taste. “Pretty sneaky, but I applaud your effort.”

Other-Shane cocked his head, looking confused. “What?” 

“Well, you got what you wanted. You’re buying me a drink.” Ryan said with a little smirk.

“Oh yeah.” Other-Shane replied, when it dawned on him. He huffed out a laugh. “Well, go me.” 

Ryan heard a small noise from his left. He turned and saw that Shane had a strange look on his face. 

Ryan leaned in towards him, asking quietly under his breath. “You good?”

Shane looked like was about to say something, but stopped. The smile Shane gave him felt a little strained. 

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta-ed by the @loveontherocks, she's amazing (I'm just gonna keep on leaving little love notes here for her, cause she's awesome.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Note: Multiple POVs in this one, guys (all labelled)

_Shane Madej_

Shane declined the second and third round of beers, drinking water instead. Both Teej and Devon were roaring with laughter at the drunk anecdotes Asad was regaling them with. He was quite an interesting person, and normally Shane would be happy to listen as well, but he kept getting distracted by how touchy this _Shane_ was with Ryan. He doesn’t think the man’s hand had left Ryan’s arm even once. He was just holding him, and it was just so. Unnerving. 

What was even more unnerving was the fact that Ryan doesn’t seem to realize it. He was laughing along with them, being entirely oblivious that a man he just met is latching onto him like a sleazy octopus. 

Shane excused himself to go to the bathroom. He had to wade through a throng of people to get there--the bar was steadily filling up. They should probably head back soon, he thought.

It was a while before Shane managed to get back to their table. He immediately noticed that Ryan wasn’t there. “Where’s Ryan?” he asked, scanning the room. 

“Oh yeah.” Devon said belatedly, once she realize Ryan wasn’t sitting in front of her.

“Don’t worry friend, our Shane’s with him.” Asad said, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Yeah, he’s in good hands.” Emika interjected, a cheeky smile playing on her lips. “Shane couldn’t stop talking about the ‘ _handsome latino with almond eyes’_ all day.” 

Devon giggled, while Teej’s eyes went wide, looking intrigued. “Really?” 

Emika nodded, laughing. “I’ve never seen him like that before, it was hilarious. He’s crushing hard.” She leaned in, all conspiratorial-like. “So, do you guys know if Ryan is interested in him?” 

“Er, we don’t know.” Teej responded awkwardly. “Did he tell you anything Shane?” Teej asked, looking at him.

“Um.” Shane took a sip of his water. “Nope.” 

“Daww, too bad.” Emika said, before changing the topic. 

Shane let their conversation flow without him, scanning the room for the little guy before spotting him at the far end of the bar. Ryan was almost entirely blocked by that _Shane,_ who was crowding him, as if hiding him from view of the rest of the room. He moved a little and saw why- Ryan was holding a vaporizer, looking as if he was contemplating whether to take a puff. 

Shane felt his ire rise, when he saw the other Shane leaned in a little too close. Ryan took a puff, and instantly coughed--the man immediately started patting his back. The man was chuckling a little, and when Ryan took another puff, Shane saw that the other man’s hand was still rubbing Ryan’s back, going incrementally lower and lower. 

Shane downed the rest of his water, and decided he’s had enough. He stood up and made his way towards the bar.

-

_Ryan_

Ryan took a smaller puff, and this time he managed to expel the smoke out more smoothly. He made a little face at the taste. 

“It tastes like old berries.” Ryan said, scrunching his face. 

Other-Shane laughed at him. “Yeah, it takes some getting used to. This one barely has any nicotine in it.. Been cigarette free for about a year now.” He said, sounding a little shyly proud of that fact. 

Ryan smiled at him, twirling the little device in his hand. “Well, that’s good. Smoking is kinda a deal breaker for me.” Ryan added, with a teasing smile. 

Other-Shane’s eyes widened, before his expression turned thoughtful. 

“So.. there’s a possibility of a deal, then?”

Well, Ryan backed himself in the corner for that one. He ducked his head with a little laugh, handing Other-Shane back the vape, who immediately flung it back. Ryan scrambled and managed to catch it before it hits the ground. 

“What the fuck,” Ryan exclaimed, laughing a little, before putting it more firmly in Other-Shane’s hand. 

“Gotta throw it away. Can’t risk my chances,” Other-Shane said, face mock serious. _  
_

Ryan wheezed. Other-Shane grinned, before pocketing the vaporizer, and taking out a different pod device. 

“Now this one.. Doesn’t have nicotine. Want to give it a try?”

Ryan took it, peering at the glossy black exterior. “What is it?”

“Won’t know unless you try.” 

Ryan took a little puff. 

_Okay, this is weed._

Ryan took a longer inhale, holding it in and then releasing curling tendrils of marijuana scented vapour slowly, so as to not alert any of the waiters.

“Oh, this shit’s heady.” Ryan said, looking at the pod with new respect. 

“THC oil is a little stronger. Try to think of it as a cigar, instead of a cigarette.” Shane said. 

“You just walk around with that? Damn, professors are wild.”

“Oh, angel. You don’t know just how wild we can get.” Shane said, eyes full of intent, voice getting huskier. 

Ryan shivered a little, not minding that Shane could see how affected he was by his words. There was a pleasant fuzziness creeping around the edges of his mind, making him feel both calmer, and more bold. He took another puff, and shyly leaned forward, placing his hand on Shane’s chest. 

“What are you doing?” 

Ryan coughed, the smoke catching a little in his lungs. Shane Madej had appeared out of thin air, practically glowering at them. Ryan immediately took his hand off the other man, who had began patting his back, helping to ease his burning lungs a little bit.

“You should probably put that away, man.” Shane said testily. 

“It’s weed.” The other Shane said easily, cocking his chin. “You wanna try it?” 

“No.” 

There was a look that passed between them, that Ryan couldn’t decipher. It was gone in a fleeting moment. 

“I’ll get you some water.” Other-Shane said, patting Ryan’s back a little more before walking off towards the other end of the bar. 

His Shane took that moment to lean in on Ryan, whispering harshly. “What, you smoking now?” 

Ryan gulped. “It really was weed.”

“I mean earlier. Don’t kickstart an addiction.”

Ryan was about to say that a few puffs off a vape definitely cannot cause an addiction, but what came out instead was, “What are you, my dad?” 

Shane snorted derisively. “I might as well be. You’re not making great decisions on your own here.”

“I always make good decisions.” Ryan said, and before Shane could call him out on that absolute lie, Ryan preemptively cut him off. “Come on, Shane. Lighten up. You want another cocktail?”

“No, I don’t want another cocktail. Ryan--”

“Ok here, have a sip of my beer. It’s good--”

“Ryan, no--” 

Ryan shouldn’t have brandished his glass towards Shane, but he really didn't expect Shane to slap his hand away either. Ryan gasped when he felt the beer splash on his face and spill a little over his front. 

Ryan hissed, feeling a slight sting in his eyes.

“Oh shit--sorry”

“Damn it, Shane” 

“Hey, everything okay here?” Other-Shane asked, finally coming back with glasses of water. He took in what had happened, and immediately set both glasses on the bar to grab a napkin. 

Ryan held out his hand for it, but Other-Shane just batted it away, dabbing his face instead. Ryan felt rooted on the spot, feeling like he was in a trance, while the other man gently cleaned him up.  
  


“Better?” he asks, voice tinged with concern. 

“Um. Yeah. Thanks.” Ryan said haltingly. 

Ryan heard a cough. He turned to the side and saw that Shane was looking at them, his expression unreadable.

“It’s late. Were leaving, now.” Shane clipped, his tone brokering no arguments.

Ryan felt his heart skip a beat, but he’s not sure why.

“Um. Okay.” 

The other Shane looked at both of them, a strange glint in his eyes. “I’ll walk you guys out.” 

-

_Ryan_

Devon and Teej were singing a little when they exited the bar. They had grumbled goodnaturedly at having to leave at first, but were both professional enough to note that it's not the best idea to have a late night on the first day of shooting. It was still pretty early, so they were allocating a responsible amount of time to sober up. 

Shane was guiding their two drunk friends towards the rental, busy frisking Teej for the car keys, since the latter was definitely not sober enough to drive. Ryan can’t seem to place the mood Shane’s in. He seemed quiet, and a little off. He wanted to ask why, but he’s not sure how. He never had a problem reading Shane’s moods before--they were usually in sync with each other. 

Ryan rubbed his arms, and shivered a little. Baltimore was pretty chilly at night. 

“Hey, you cold?” Ryan heard the other Shane ask. 

“Um. Just a little bit, but I’m fine.” 

The other Shane immediately took off his jacket, covering Ryan with it despite his protests.

“You don’t have to,” he said weakly.

“I want to.” 

“Thanks, for the drinks. Well.. goodnight.” Ryan said.

“Hey.. what about I send you back?” 

Ryan made a confused noise. “What? Aren’t you going back inside?” 

The man shrugged. “Nah. I told them I was heading home anyway.”

“Oh.. um, that’s okay--” 

“You sure? Your hotel is on the way, it’s no problem,” Other Shane said, taking out his keys and clicking it. He was parked right near the bar and _okay_ , Shane drives a BMW. 

Ryan felt Devon stumble a little at his side. “ _Wow_ that’s- is this the BMW X5? I’ve always liked this model-” 

Ryan heard his Shane came up from behind him, “Ryan, lets go.” 

“Yeah, okay--Devon, we gotta go.” Ryan called out. 

Devon looked up, hand already hovering on the handle of the BMW. “Wait--I thought Shane was sending us back?”

“Yeah,” both Shanes answered in unison, before shooting each other that indecipherable _look_ again. 

Devon giggled.

“Teej’s already in the car. Were good, thanks.” Shane clipped. 

“I can take her back, no problem. You wanted to see how smooth it is, right Devon?” The other Shane said easily, opening the door for her. 

“Hell _yes_.” Devon said happily, sliding in the backseat. “Ryan, you coming?” 

Ryan sighed. “Yeah, okay--I should probably go with them. See you back at the hotel?” Ryan said, glancing up at Shane. 

Shane stared at him for a beat, eyes flickering up at the other Shane momentarily before jerking a nod. 

“See you.”   
  


-

_Shane Madej_

Shane can’t believe that despite struggling with the GPS, he had managed to reach the hotel before the other Shane did. 

“How come they’re not here yet?” Shane grumbled out loud. 

Teej was already looking sleepy, coming out of the bathroom. “I don’t know, maybe they took the scenic route.”

“In the middle of the night?”

“...Maybe? Who knows, Shane, I’m sure they're fine. I’m going to bed, goodnight,” Teej said before yawning, getting under the covers. 

Shane opened the door to leave the room, startling Devon, who was standing right in front of it. She dropped her keycard, cursing. Shane bent down and picked it up for her. 

“Thanks sweetie--”

“No problem.” He cut her off, looking down the hallway. “Where’s Ryan?”

“Oh, he’s still with Shane. He wanted to show Ryan some cool place, or something.” Devon said distractedly, wobbling into the room. 

“Wait, what?”

“Oh, it’s pretty near, I think. Don’t worry, Ryan said he’ll be back soon. Night Shane,” Devon sang, going in the bathroom and shutting the door. 

Shane felt a little headache build at the back of his skull. He was getting tired of his friends saying not to worry about Ryan. Who says he’s worried? Ryan was out, drunk, with some sleazy professor that had the hots for him. Why on earth would that worry him? 

Shane returned to their room and sat on his bed. He knew he should get ready for bed--he could feel exhaustion seep into his bones, but he felt restless at the moment.

He started scrolling through his reddit feed, trying to distract himself. 

He’d sleep once Ryan returned. 

-

_Shane Manseau_

Shane parked his SUV near the Chesapeake Bay, so that Ryan could see the peaceful waters, glittering black in the moonlight. 

Shane could tell the younger man was nervous at being alone with him--he started fidgeting right after they dropped Devon off at the hotel. Despite his nervousness, he still said _yes_ when Shane asked if he wanted to see the Bay at night. 

Shane had taken out his THC pod again, passing it to Ryan, rolling down the windows. They made small talk on the short drive there--mostly Shane telling him about the area, and Ryan listening to him while smoking up. He can see from the corner of his eye that the younger man was relaxing from the weed again already, his nervous demeanour ebbing away. 

Shane leaned back in his seat, facing Ryan, staring at him unabashedly. Ryan took a long pull from the pod, eyes closing languidly. Shane let his eyes glide over the younger man’s lovely jaw, his plush lips, before gliding down to his slender neck. Shane’s jacket had slid off Ryan’s shoulders during the drive, his collar bones visible now where his short sleeved shirt was unbuttoned. 

Despite the low light, Shane could see that the chilly breeze made his nipples harden, the twin peaks visible against his damp shirt, made sheer from the split beer earlier. 

_God, he was gorgeous._

Ryan opened his almond eyes, startling a little when he saw Shane staring at him. It was almost like Ryan could hear his train of thought, because he was blushing again. Shane watched greedily, fascinated by the progression of his blush, fanning out down his neck. Shane wanted to rip the buttons of his shirt open, just to see if it went all the way down that beautiful body. _  
_

“God, I want to kiss you so bad, angel,” Shane said, voice sounding thick even to his own ears. 

Ryan’s blush only intensified at his cheeks, and Shane couldn’t stop staring at it. He had such pretty, high cheekbones, with youthful round cheeks.

Ryan was such a natural _tease_. He didn’t acknowledge what Shane just said, huffing out a little laugh instead. 

“You know--it's kinda funny to think that we’ve just met today, and you’ve already given me a nickname.” The younger man finally replied, putting the pod aside. 

“Can’t help it. Angel just suits you perfectly.” 

Ryan grinned, eyes briefly fluttering shut. Shane felt his heart thud in his chest when Ryan tentatively leaned closer. Shane casually slid his arms around the younger man, keeping a careful distance, so as to not scare him away. 

He felt the younger man shudder a bit, but didn’t pull away. 

“Well, maybe I should give you a nickname then.” Ryan said. 

Shane made a little sound at the back of his throat. “I can think of a nickname that you should call me.” 

Ryan opened his eyes, and gave him a questioning look. “And what’s that?”

Shane slid his mouth towards Ryan’s ear, whispering, “Daddy.” 

Ryan let out a gasp and jerked a little in his arms. Shane felt a sharp stab of lust in his gut when he saw the younger man’s pupils dilate even further. He knew what he predicted was right on the money--this beautiful boy had a daddy kink a mile wide. 

“That turns you on, doesn’t it? Being Daddy’s little angel.” Shane said huskily, whispering close to his little ear. “Call me Daddy, angel.” His angel squirmed, letting out a slight whimper.

“Fuck, I....” Ryan said, those dark almond eyes flickering towards Shane’s mouth. He licked his lips. “Okay, Daddy.” 

_Oh fuck._

  
Shane surged in immediately, capturing Ryan’s mouth in a kiss. Shane felt Ryan become stiff, plush lips opening in a slight gasp, which Shane took advantage of, sliding his tongue in, deepening the kiss. Shane let his hands roam a little, one skating low on his back, tugging him in closer. His other hand immediately slipped under the younger man’s shirt, sliding up his chest, feeling the soft warm skin, flicking a hard nipple. Ryan broke off the kiss with a moan, panting a little, eyes dark as black obsidian. 

Shane made a needy noise at the back of his throat, immediately moving to recapture the younger man’s lips, but Ryan turned his head to the side, taking in a shuddering breath. His lips met his jaw instead, and Shane mouthed along down the beautiful curve of it, feeling the beating pulse at his neck, nibbling the skin there. 

“Shane… Shane, wait.” Ryan had breathed out, but Shane could barely hear the soft moans of protests through the roaring lust in his head. He sucked a little bruise on the younger man’s neck, and would have continued ravaging him if the younger man didn’t suddenly push him away, holding him at arm's length.

“What is it?” Shane asked, breathless with the lingering side effects of a spectacular makeout. 

“I’m sorry, it’s. It’s a little intense,” Ryan replied apologetically, squeezing his eyes shut--and for a moment, all Shane could see was red, swollen lips, a sweep of dark lashes and flush stained cheeks. He internally groaned at what a pretty picture his angel made. 

_Oh God, what a tease._

“It’s fine, I should've controlled myself,” Shane apologised, steadying his breathing. “We won’t do anything you’re not ready for, angel,” he added, for reassurance. 

Ryan bit his lip and nodded, lowering his gaze. Shane could see him squirming a little, dark denim barely hiding just how affected Ryan was from their makeout session. 

Shane took a deep breath, clearing his head a little. He’d never lusted over someone this badly, and it’s really doing a number on him. He saw the younger man looking at him, still a little timid, yet turned on. Ryan definitely has the makings of the most perfect, beautiful Little.

“Little? What’s that?” Ryan asked, still a bit breathless. It took a second for Shane to realize that he said the last part out loud. 

“A Little is what Daddies call their sub, angel.” 

Ryan cocked his head a little, and Shane felt his wave of desire tinged a little with disappointment. 

“You’ve really never heard of it before, huh.”

Ryan shook his head. “No. is that… something you like?” 

“I love it,” he said. “But I won’t spring this on you. It’s--it’s probably a lot, especially for someone new to this.” Shane gestured to them, hoping it’s enough to articulate the ‘being with another man’ part. 

Ryan huffed, sounding as if he’s annoyed at the suggestion that he’s unable to deal with it. It was adorable. Honestly, this young man was an enigma. And a tease. 

Ryan had gone a little quiet on the short drive back to the hotel, looking almost deep in thought. Shane pulled up in front of the entrance, and turned towards Ryan to say goodbye. He knew this must have been a lot to take in, so he wasn’t going to do anything else at the moment. He shouldn’t push the younger man too much, so soon. 

Shane barely had time to say anything before he felt the younger man grab the front of his shirt, planting a firm kiss on his lips. “Um. Good night...” Ryan paused, eyes fluttering shut before he continued. “Daddy.” he stuttered out, blush darkening his cheeks. Before Shane could react, Ryan was already scrambling out of the car, practically running up into the hotel. 

_God, such a perfect little tease._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta-ed by @loveontherocks (if we didn't live in different time zones, I'd buy u a beer)
> 
> [my tumblr](https://the-czar.tumblr.com)
> 
> * someone commented here that it was implausible for Shane to drive a fancy car, is it possible he’s into some shady shit- 
> 
> I guess I should clarify here that no shane isn’t in the mafia XD he’s a regular assc prof in his late thirties in a prestigious private place- a BMW X5 is abt 50-60k, which pricey but he’s into archeology right, made sense to have a big ass SUV. (I don’t know why I feel the need to clarify this haha) 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed it- pls leave a review if you do- it fuels me


	5. Chapter 5

Shane jerked his head towards the door when he heard Ryan shuffle in, looking a little out of breath. He jumped a little when he saw Shane looking at him from the bed, before casually running a hand over his messy hair. 

“Um. Hey. Not asleep yet?” 

“Where have you been?” Shane asked, sitting up, ignoring Ryan’s question. 

Ryan stuttered a little, not meeting Shane’s eyes. “Um. At the Chesapeake Bay. It’s really pretty, we should all check it out tomorrow.” Ryan said, before turning away from Shane, busying himself with his suitcase on the floor. 

“What were you two doing there?”

Shane could see the younger man’s shoulders stiffen at the question, before he went back to rummaging through his suitcase again. “Nothing.” Ryan replied off handedly, before getting up, walking towards the bathroom. 

Before Shane had even realized what he was doing, he had gotten off the bed and in a few short strides, was standing in front of Ryan, blocking the bathroom door. 

That made Ryan look up at him incredulously. “Hey, man, what are you doing?” Ryan sputtered, before going quiet under Shane’s gaze. 

Shane looked at him for a moment. Ryan’s hair was messy. His shirt was askew. The younger man’s lips were bruised red, like he’s been kissed within an inch of his life. 

There was also a bruise on his neck. 

A hickey. The sleazy professor gave Ryan a  _ hickey. _

“Tell me what happened.” Shane demanded, voice deceptively calm. 

“Um...” Ryan squirmed, eyes looking at a  _ fascinating _ point directly behind Shane’s right shoulder. 

“Ryan.” Shane began again, voice still calm. “What did he--”

“Nothing!” Ryan finally snapped. “Why do you want to know so badly-”

“Because I care about you!” Shane shouted back, because really, he’s furious. He scrubbed his face with his hand, trying to get his raging emotions back under some kind of control. “You’re drunk, and you come in here, looking--looking like  _ this _ . I’m your--I’m your friend, and I need you to tell me what happened--that he didn’t-- _ force  _ himself on you--”

“Jesus, he didn’t--he didn’t force me to do anything.” Ryan threw his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. “Can you please drop it--”

Shane took a deep breath. “Are you sure? You’re pretty drunk. And high. You’re not thinking clearly.” Shane said, voice accusatory. “Did he take advantage of--”

“We just made out!” Ryan blurted out, face turning red. “And I managed to stop things before it got too far.” Ryan added, before his eyes widened, like he just realized what he said. 

Shane felt his head pound with restrained rage, thought he was going to absolutely explode if he didn’t hit something, preferably that sleazy professor. 

“I’m going to kill him,” Shane muttered.

Ryan sighed. “Shane, can you just--take my word for it, that I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to. Okay?” Ryan huffed out a breath. “It was just a bit of fun, that’s all.”

Shane felt his anger ebb away a little, irritation taking its place instead. “Just yesterday you were crying your eyes out about your break up. You really think it’s a good time for a rebound right now, Ryan?” 

Ryan looked taken back abit, before narrowing his eyes at Shane. “Well, you’re the one that said I should ‘discover’ myself.” Ryan snapped. “That’s exactly what I’ve been doing.”

“I said discover yourself, not throw yourself at the first asshole you meet. Are you really that fucking desperate?” Shane retorted.

Shane saw a flicker of hurt on Ryan’s face.

It immediately made him want to take back what he said. 

“Ryan--”

“Fuck you.“ Ryan spat out, before pushing him out of his way and stalking off into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.    


-

Ryan was taking a pretty long time in the bathroom. 

Shane was just absently scrolling through his tumblr feed. He’s exhausted, but he can’t sleep without at least apologizing to Ryan first. His mom had always told him don’t go to bed angry. Technically he knew that phrase was about married couples, but then again, him and Ryan do tend to argue like an old married couple. Well, most of the time. Tonight was a little different, and it’s entirely Shane’s fault. 

Shane heard the bathroom door open finally. He watched the younger man discreetly from the corner of his eye. Ryan was towelling his hair, before getting his laptop and sliding into bed without a word. 

He chanced a glance at the younger man, who was quietly tapping away on his laptop, the muted glow of the screen illuminating his soft features, bruised lips and damp hair that was trying desperately to curl. 

“I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry.” 

There was a slight pause in Ryan’s typing, before he resumed again. “It’s fine.” Ryan replied.

“Ryan--”

“It’s fine, Shane. Goodnight.” Ryan said dismissively, still typing.    


Shane kept quiet, turning around in his bed, to stare out the window. Through the darkened glass he could just make out the bright lights of the city, still bustling even at this hour. In the reflective glass, he could see Ryan typing, his eyes flickering occasionally towards Shane, probably not realizing that he could see all this through the window. 

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.” Shane said quietly, the words seem to startle him even as he spoke. He closed his eyes and swallowed whatever else he was planning to say. 

Shane felt the bed dip. He turned around and saw Ryan sitting on the edge of his bed. Ryan stared at him, then shook his head and scrubbed his hands through his hair, leaving it in that ridiculous state of disarray that Shane absolutely did not find endearing.

Ryan’s eyes drifted back to his face. Shane wasn’t sure what he could read there, relief, sure, but something else was shifting through Ryan’s gaze, something deeper. . 

Ryan reached out and touched Shane’s sleeve. “Hey. I’m sorry for making you worry,” he said, not quite managing to meet Shane’s eyes, but not letting go of his sleeve either. “I know you’re just trying to look out for me, and I--I really appreciate it, man.” 

Shane made a small sound in his throat. “You know I always do.” 

“Yeah.” Ryan said, shooting him a fond look, before getting off his bed and sliding into his own.   


Shane turned off the light, and was just about to settle into some much needed sleep when he heard Ryan pipe up in the darkness. 

“Actually…um, if you still wanna know, I can uh. Tell you what happened.” 

Shane felt a throbbing headache etch itself at the back of his skull. “Yeah sure.” Shane said casually, but he knew his voice still sound somewhat strained. 

Ryan stayed silent for a beat, before clearing his throat. 

“Um. He uh, kissed me… and touched me a little bit.” Ryan said, before quickly adding “But I liked it. Um--then he uh, he told me to..”

Shane stopped himself from asking Ryan to spit it out already, and pretended he wasn’t waiting with bated breath.

“Um, he told me to call him Daddy.” A pause. “And then I did.” Another pause. “And I really liked it.”

Shane sighed heavily. “Is that it?” 

Shane heard Ryan make a sputtering sound. “What do you mean i _ s that it _ ? I just told you something that I’ve just discovered about myself--”

“No, no.” Shane shook his head in the darkness. “I mean, is that all that happened?” 

“Well. Yeah. I mean, he was down for more, but I’m uh. I’ve never done anything with guys before, so I chickened out.” 

“It’s not chickening out. You were uncomfortable, and you put a stop to it. That’s just being smart.” 

“Hmm, I guess.” Ryan paused for a moment. “Shane?” 

“Hmm?”

“Um… do you know what a Little is?” 

“... Yeah. Do you?” 

Ryan made a noncommittal noise in his throat. “Um, kinda… actually--no, not really.”

Shane took a long, steadying breath. “I’ll send you some website links tomorrow, you should take a look at some of them.”

“Thanks, Shane.”

The older man just shook his head, with a slight smile lifting the corners of his mouth. “You’re actually serious, huh?” 

“What?” 

“Serious about learning more about your Daddy kink.”

“What? Of course I’m serious. Why would I lie about it?” Ryan said indignantly. 

Shane couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. 

Ryan was startled by his laugh at first, but then it’s like he couldn’t help but join in as well. Truly, the whole situation was ridiculous, and laughing seemed like a better release than overthinking the whole thing. 

“Okay, I know this is kind of weird. Sorry for like--offloading this on you, Shane.”

“No, it’s fine. You can always tell me anything.” Shane said reassuringly. He heard Ryan sigh out a breath of relief. 

“Really Shane--I don’t think I would have ever dared to… experiment about these things..if it weren’t for you. So, thank you,” the younger man said, sounding genuine. 

“You’re welcome.” Shane said, clamping down on the onslaught of complicated feelings that little confession gave him. 

“Night Shane.”

“Night Ryan.” 

Shane could hear Ryan quickly fall asleep, exhaustion finally taking its toll on him. Shane felt tired as well, but caught himself mulling over everything that happened. Shane rarely ever let his emotions get the better of him, and it had, several times tonight. 

He was still unsure why he felt so jumbled inside. There was a small voice in his head that told him that if he probed at it too much, he was going to find out things that are better left buried. With that final thought in mind, Shane finally succumbed to sleep.    
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta-ed by the @loveontherocks (hope you're having a lovely day)  
> [my tumblr](https://the-czar.tumblr.com)
> 
> * Thanks for everyone that sent messages asking for updates on tumblr, but perhaps you’d like to drop a lil review here instead? I just love hearing what u guys think, even if it’s just to say you loved it. :3


	6. Chapter 6

_Shane_

“Today on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we cover multiple cases and visit some of the most haunted and horrifying places in Baltimore, Maryland as part of our ongoing investigation into the question ‘ _are ghosts real?_ ’” 

Shane shook his head, looking directly at the camera. 

“Right now, were standing in front of--”

“Cut! There’s still an issue with the sound, we're gonna have to shoot that again,” Teej said, sounding frustrated. “Sorry guys.” 

“Alright, no problem.” Ryan sighed.

“I’ll sort it out, it won’t take long.”

“No worries, take your time, Teej.”

Teej set his camera down and cursed when he nearly tripped on a wire.

“Need a hand?” Shane asked, walking towards Teej, noticing Ryan about to do the same.

“No, no, you guys stay there, I got this,” Teej said determinedly, putting on his headset again and scanning through their sound equipment.

Shane went back to his spot and took a swig from his water bottle. He could see from the corner of his eye that Ryan was discreetly checking his phone. The younger man outwardly looked calm, but Shane could always tell when he’s anxious, brain running a mile a minute.

Shane had expected this, knew they would have some hiccups on location with the limited man power. They had put in a request for more crew for this trip, at least one more camera operator or sound person to make things more smoother, but Buzzfeed hadn’t sign off on any it. It was almost like the first season, the only difference being that they now had a high standard to adhere to--everyone expected them to produce the same quality but with a reduced budget. 

It’s more than a little grating, but he knows Ryan won’t complain about this--neither of them will, especially after quitting. They were just going to have to adjust, and Shane have faith in them to do just that. No matter what, they’ll buck up and come out on top--they always do.

Nearly five minutes had passed, and Teej was still muttering to himself, trying to fix their audio gear. Shane could see that Ryan was starting to fidget a little. 

“Hey, I have an idea,” Shane said lightly, peering down at the younger man, whose mind at the moment seemed to be far away. 

Ryan’s eyes snapped up to him questioningly.

“What if we take some clips of us out here? We don’t need audio for that. Pop some royalty free music afterwards, let the fans take a good look at the scenery.”

Ryan cocked his head a little, looking unsure. “Would the fans even want that? Just us two goons walking around the place...” 

Shane snorted good naturedly. “We’ll make it tasteful--come on, don’t act like you don’t know how much they’ll love it.”

“...Ok, let’s do it. Hey Teej, Shane and I are gonna go film each other for a bit, okay?” Ryan said.

“Yeah, okay. Don’t break my camera.” Teej said distractedly, waving them off. “You kids have fun.” 

-  
  


“Ok, go stand there--hey, what are you doing--” Ryan said, flailing a little, holding the camera out of reach when Shane made grabby hands at it. 

“I wanna shoot,” Shane said, reaching out for the camera. 

“Shane, I’m the one holding the camera, I’m doing it--”

“Nope, I called dibs, I want to do it--” 

“No, I--”

Shane practically lunged towards Ryan, narrowly making the younger man trip over his own feet.

“Oh my god, I could've dropped it, what’s wrong with you?” Ryan sputtered, letting out an exasperated laugh. 

Shane was undeterred. “Gimme it,” he said impatiently, reaching for the camera again.

“Jesus--fucking _fine_ \--” Ryan relented, sighing heavily, letting Shane have the camera. 

Shane bit back a laugh. In moments like this, it’s blatantly obvious how much of a big brother Ryan was, despite being almost five years younger than him. Ryan is used to caving in to nonsensical demands of a younger sibling, which Shane likes to take advantage of a little, from time to time. 

Ryan rolled his eyes at him. “You’re such a little shit, Shane. I hope you know that.”

Shane hums in agreement, before looking at Ryan through the viewfinder. “Alright, walk ahead of me, towards the lake.” 

Ryan hesitated for a fraction of a second, before schooling his features and strolling towards the lake. He hovers at the edge awkwardly for a bit. “Ok, now what?” 

“Now slowly look over your shoulder and smile.”

Ryan snorted. “What is this, a glamour shoot?” 

“Just do it, Ryan.” Shane demanded, his tone somewhat commanding.

“Ok, ok.” Ryan said, looking at him with his eyebrow raised. 

“Good, let’s take it from the top.” Shane said, turning the camera off for a moment to fiddle with the lenses. 

Ryan complied, walking back to the spot behind him. 

Shane twisted the lens for a wider aperture before clicking record again. “Ok, and… action.”

Ryan saunters towards the lake, and Shane slowly pans the camera from his retreating back up towards the university. Even in broad daylight, the building looked slightly intimidating, the palladian architecture only heightening the creepy aesthetic. 

“Ok, now look at me.” Shane commanded, directing the younger man. 

Ryan looked over his shoulder and gave him a small smile, before huffing out a little laugh, ducking his head in a bashful manner.

“This is so stupid,” Ryan wheezed, shooting him a grin that was equal parts amused and affectionate.

“No it’s not,” Shane said behind the lens, mouth twitching a little before continuing “Ok, now pretend it’s a beautiful day out here.” 

“It actually is a beautiful day,” Ryan replied, looking back at the lake. “I mean, it’s hot as balls, but there’s a cool breeze.”

Shane pointed the camera towards the lake, capturing how the waters reflected the rays of the sun like a mirror. He then panned the camera back to Ryan, who had sprawled out on the grass, limbs spread out haphazardly. 

Shane moved closer, adjusting the focus when the younger man leaned forward to stretch a little, before lying back down and crossing his arms behind his head. Ryan hummed contently, eyes fluttering shut when the breeze tosses his hair a little. 

Shane was only dimly aware that he was gliding the camera up slowly, capturing how the golden rays highlight and cast shadows across the planes of the younger man’s bronze skin, highlighting the muscles of his arms, the contours of his biceps. Ryan’s cheeks were pink, most likely from the heat. They were only outside for a short while, but Ryan was already glistening, face sun-kissed and almost glowing. Shane took his eyes off the viewfinder and just stares, transfixed. 

_Beautiful._

“What are you doing?” Ryan asked after a beat of silence, opening his eyes and tilting his head back a little to look at him. 

Shane’s heart skipped a beat; he felt like he was caught doing something he shouldn’t, though he’s not sure why. Shane holds the camera back to his face, could feel his cheeks flare with heat all of the sudden.

“Just, uh,” Shane began, before clearing his throat. “Just trying to get the ol’ big ass Bergara forehead in frame.”

“Fuck you.” Ryan wheezed, flipping him off. “Ok, hand it over, my turn.” Ryan said, getting up and reaching for the camera. 

Shane wordlessly gave the camera to Ryan, and both of them were just about to make their way further down the lake when they heard Teej calling for them from a distance. 

“Oh, good, he got it fixed.” Ryan said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Come on, let’s go.” Ryan paused, before turning a little to look at Shane strangely. “You’re a little quiet. Everything ok?” 

“Uh, yeah. It’s uh, really hot out here.” Shane said, not meeting his gaze. 

“Oh, ok. We’ll get out of the heat soon, I promise, once we're done with the intro.” 

Shane gave a jerky nod and walked a few paces ahead of the younger man, subtly taking in deep, long breaths. He needs to stop being… weird. Well, weirder than usual. Sure, they fought a bit and had a strange little moment last night, but that was no reason to suddenly be weird around Ryan. 

Shane thought back to this morning. While Ryan was in the shower, Shane had messaged him links about the whole ‘daddy kink’ thing as promised. All throughout breakfast and the drive up here he waited to see if Ryan would acknowledge it, but Ryan still hasn’t said a word about it--in fact, it’s like he had forgotten all about it. 

Shane sighed, scrubbing his hands through his hair. They’re pretty busy, so maybe Ryan hasn’t had time to look through it. It’s fine. 

_Keep it together, Madej. You’re being ridiculous._ Shane mentally chided himself.

They’ll talk about it later. 

-  
  


They were just wrapping up the intro when Devon suddenly stalked towards them, looking positively livid.

Shane gave her a concerned look. “Hey, what happened--”

“We had an agreement!” Devon barked, cutting him off mid-sentence. “I had personally confirmed it with the management, there wasn’t supposed to be any problems--” 

Ryan’s eyes widened. Shane could almost feel a wave of anxiety from him. “Wait, what--” 

“I fucking told them we had a permit, but now they’re saying it was never confirmed, that we didn’t request for a permit--” Devon ranted. 

“What--Devon, slow down, tell us what happened.” 

Devon took a deep breath and explained that the university management had informed that they had to vacate the premises immediately. Apparently they weren’t allowed to set foot near the building, let alone do some ‘ghost hunting’ here without an official permit. 

“Ok, that’s not good. So what should we do now?” Teej asked. 

“I’ve asked to meet with the person in charge, but they said she’s not in today--the secretary could only book me a meeting tomorrow morning.” Devon replied, letting out a frustrated sigh. 

Well that’s not ideal, Shane thought. They were already on a tight schedule as it is. He looked at Ryan, checking to see how he felt about this. 

Ryan only looked thoughtful. “Um. Maybe we can… ask Shane for help? You know, the professor from yesterday.”

Devon’s eyes lit up. “You think he could help out?”

“I don’t know, maybe. I’ll ask him.” Ryan said, before taking out his phone and walking off to a corner to make a call. 

Shane felt that weird feeling in his gut again, like there’s a bunch of bats fluttering inside him. 

A few minutes later, Ryan walked back towards them with a big grin on his face. “He said not to worry, he’ll sort out the permit issue--he’s on half day today, so he’ll be coming in at around one.”

“That’s great.” Devon said, looking slightly calmer. “Do we still have to schedule the shoot for tomorrow?” 

“Nope, he said he’ll make sure we could do it today.” Ryan said happily, tucking his phone back inside his pocket. 

“Awesome.” Teej said, packing up their gear. “It’s still early, so let’s grab lunch, I’m starving.”

Shane could hear Ryan’s stomach growl, as if on cue. 

“Yeah, let’s go,” Ryan replied immediately. “I think I saw a Taco Bell on the way here--” 

“Okay, help me carry this to the car--” Teej said, passing some of the equipment to Ryan.

“I’ll go pay for parking.” Devon said, patting her pockets. “Shit, do you guys have any change?”

“Uh, I do. I’ll come with.” Shane said distractedly, before looking at Ryan and Teej. “We’ll meet you guys at the car park.”

Both of them nodded, and carried the equipment back to the rental. 

“It’s a good thing they met, huh, Shane?” Devon said conversationally, while they were heading towards the autopay machine.

Shane made a noncommittal noise, putting change into the machine a little harder than necessary. 

“I’m just saying, it’s--er, who was that girl, the one we drank with at the bar last night?”

“I can’t remember.”

Devon snapped her fingers. “Emika! Yeah, Emika was the one that said the professor had a little crush on Ryan.” Devon said, huffing out a laugh. “Well, thank god our Ryan is such a ‘ _handsome latino with almond eyes_ ’, huh.” Devon said, with a teasing smile. 

Shane didn’t feel like returning her smile. 

-  
  


It was a quarter past one when they returned to the university. 

Shane didn’t particularly feel chatty throughout lunch, thought no one really noticed. Everyone seemed to be in a pretty good mood--Ryan, especially. The younger man ate his burrito with gusto, even sneaking some fries from Shane’s plate when he thinks he’s not looking. 

Normally that would bother him a little, he hated sharing his food--at that moment however, he’s more distracted with his own thoughts. He can’t seem to pinpoint why letting the other Shane help them bothered him so much. He should feel grateful, really. The professor was saving them a lot of trouble. 

Even so, Shane can’t help but feel a wave of annoyance when he sees the professor waiting for them in front of the campus. 

Professor Shane greeted them with a friendly wave. “So I talked to the Dean, and apparently one of the coordinators had signed off on your permit without checking with the administrator. Unfortunately, there’s some construction going on at that side of the building, so it’s not safe to go there at the moment.” he said apologetically. “But I’ve gotten you guys permission to shoot later tonight--at about 9pm. Is that ok?” 

Devon and Ryan both breathed a sigh of relief. 

“But uh, there’s a catch, though--” the professor continued. “The Dean isn’t comfortable with you guys prowling around campus after hours, so you’ll need a chaperone. I’ve volunteered to do it,” The professor said with a little smile, running his fingers through his hair. “Would that be okay?” 

“Of course it is. Thanks, Shane.” Ryan said, beaming at him. 

“No problem. So, uh, technically you guys aren’t allowed to be here ‘til later, but since I’m here--I’ll be happy to sneak you guys around, if you want to record anywhere else on campus right now,” the professor said, looking at Ryan intently. 

“Really? We don’t want to cause you any trouble...” Ryan said, biting his lip. 

“Nah, it’ll be fine. Besides, it’s fun to bend the rules a little,” the professor said, grinning at him. 

“You’re a professor, shouldn’t you be setting a better example?” Ryan asked, with a teasing smile. 

“Maybe… but who gives a shit. I never play by the rules,” the professor said, quirking an eyebrow at Ryan, a small smirk playing on his lips. 

Shane internally rolled his eyes.

Ryan coloured a little, before huffing out a small laugh. “Well, alright then, Professor. Wanna show us around?” 

“It would be my pleasure,” the professor said smoothly. “This way, guys.”

They followed the professor into the building. Shane could see from the corner of his eye that the professor had lightly set his hand on Ryan’s lower back, guiding him inside. 

Shane tore his gaze away and clenched his jaw. He ignored the strange urge that came over him, like he wanted to break something. 

He could feel Teej giving him a peculiar look. Shane schools his features, shooting Teej a brief smile before staring straight ahead. 

_Everything’s fine._

Shane could see the professor’s fingers inch towards Ryan’s waist, casually pulling him closer to his side. 

_Yup, it’s all perfectly fine._

Shane could feel the bats returning in his stomach, fluttering up a storm. 

-  
  


_Ryan_

Professor Shane gave them a quick tour inside the building, pointing out which halls Doctor Lecter had taught in. 

Ryan took in his surroundings raptly, with poorly disguised glee. He knows it’s a little morbid, but he loved seeing first hand where the killer lurked--or worked, whatever. 

Ryan turned his head towards Shane, wanting to see his reaction to all of this. Shane always played it down, but he knows the older man loved it as much as he did. They’re both the same brand of fucked up, when it comes down to it. 

Ryan’s excitement falters a little when he noticed that Shane was looking at his phone, typing rapidly. Ryan nudged Shane on the side, but the older man still didn’t look at him. Ryan furrowed his brows, feeling a little hurt. It’s not like Shane to just ignore him for no reason. 

Ryan was tugged away from his thoughts when Professor Shane suddenly stopped in front of a small, ornate red door. 

“Now this is a special room that Doctor Lecter had apparently always used, to meet with his research students. He valued his privacy so much, he would often request to meet here instead of his office--or at least, that’s what the senior researcher said,” Professor Shane elaborated, opening the door to let them in. 

“You sure know a lot about Doctor Lecter, professor. Are you sure you’re not a closet serial killer fanboy?” Ryan said teasingly. 

Professor Shane huffed out a laugh. “Nope, definitely not. When you told me you were doing this, I asked around a bit, to see if any of the older professors remembered anything else about him,” he explained before leaning in close, blue eyes twinkling a little. “ I wanted to make sure I did all I could to help out on your little show.” 

Ryan raised his eyebrows a bit. ‘ _Little show_ ’, huh? “Uh.. thanks, Shane. We appreciate it.” 

“My pleasure, Ryan.” he replied smoothly. 

Ryan heard Shane groan a little beside him. 

“Um, ok. Uh, this room looks pretty spooky, actually. Maybe we should shoot in here for a bit?“ Ryan asked, looking at Teej. 

“Yeah, sure thing.” Teej replied, camera already rolling. Teej passed Devon the portable light, and silently gestured to Shane and Ryan to stand in front of him. 

They were just about to start shooting when a loud ringtone can be heard.

“Sorry, that’s me,” Professor Shane apologised, taking out his phone and silencing it, before frowning a little when he looked at the caller ID. “ It’s urgent, I’m going to have to take this. You guys mind pausing for a bit?” 

“You can just step outside to answer it.” Shane suddenly spoke up. “Or you can just leave, if you want,” Shane continued, shooting Professor Shane an indecipherable look. 

“I can’t just let you guys wander around here,” Professor Shane said, a little sharply, looking at Shane with an unreadable expression of his own. 

“Were not staying long--we’ll be leaving right after this,” Shane replied smoothly. “Don’t worry, we won’t burn the place down,” Shane clipped, cocking his head slightly. 

Ryan could sense the sudden, palpable tension in the room. Well, this got awkward quick. 

Professor Shane cleared his throat. “Well, alright then. “I’ll uh, leave you guys to it,” he replied evenly, with a tight smile.

“Yeah. Bye,” Shane said coolly, giving him a little wave. 

Ryan walked Professor Shane to the door, looking at him apologetically. He’s not sure how to explain Shane’s shitty mood--the heat outside must have got to him more than he let on earlier. 

Ryan felt the professor lightly touch his hand. “See you tonight, angel,” he said quietly. 

Ryan’s breath stuttered a little. “Yeah, see you, Shane,” Ryan replied evenly.

“Hey, come on,” Professor Shane said quietly, before leaning in close to whisper softly in his ear. “Call me by my pet name.” 

Ryan felt his face flushing, and he stuttered out a reply. “Shane, thats--”

“Come on, angel,” Professor Shane wheedled, a teasing glint in his blue eyes. 

“See you tonight, Professor,” Ryan said quickly, pushing him outside, hearing the other man laugh a little when he slammed the door shut.

Ryan shook his head and took a deep breath. He looked up and saw everyone staring at him. 

“What?” Ryan asked, running a hand through his hair. 

“So uh. What’s his pet name, angel?” Teej asked teasingly. 

“Don’t call me that,” Ryan said while scowling, walking back to his spot. He huffed out an irritated breath when Teej and Devon both snickered at him. “Let’s just get on with it,” Ryan barked, shooting them a murderous glare. 

“Whatever you say, _angel_ ,” Shane said, snorting derisively, before looking at his phone again. 

Ryan flipped him off, ignoring the slight flicker of hurt he feels at Shane’s tone. 

“Alright, let’s do this,” Devon said, clapping her hands together. “What do you need me to do?”

“Slide the curtains open a little bit, just a little--”

  
Devon slid the curtains back, muffling a sneeze at the clouds of dust that generated. 

“Ok thanks. Alright, go ahead, Ryan.”

Ryan began describing a little bit more about the case, adding some of the facts that Professor Shane had just told him. Shane barely interjected throughout, looking around the room in a bored manner.

They packed up immediately once Ryan was done. He could feel Shane’s eyes on him the entire time, but he ignored it. If Shane wanted to wave his bad mood around like a wet rag, then so be it. 

Two can play the same game. 

-

“He’s late,” Shane said testily, leaning against the old oak tree near the building. 

“No, he’s not,” Ryan replied. 

“Yes, he is.”

“No, he’s not.”

“It’s already nine--”

“It’s barely nine, shut up--”

“You shut up--” 

“No, you shut the fuck up--”

“Alright boys, I want to get a shot of the building.” Teej said loudly, setting up his camera. “The both of you can either help, or go fight somewhere else.”

“Were not fighting,” they both said simultaneously, before shooting each other a dirty look. 

“Right,” Teej snorted. “We can’t shoot when the both of you are this snippy, the fans will go nuts. Quit being assholes to each other.” 

“Ryan’s the asshole,” Shane muttered, plucking a leaf from a low branch. 

Ryan bit back a snide retort, taking in a deep breath instead. He turned around and started stalking off towards the car park. He could hear Devon sigh somewhere behind him, followed by Shane’s advancing footsteps. 

“Where are you going?” Shane called out. 

Ryan didn’t reply, opted to walk faster instead. Ryan could hear Shane catching up to him, his long bigfoot strides matching Ryan’s quick steps with ease. 

“Ryan, what are you doing.” 

“I’m going to the car, what does it look like I’m doing?” Ryan said irritably, pulling the car door. Shit, it’s locked. He patted his pockets, trying to remember where he put the keys. 

“Looking for this?” Shane said, holding out the keys. Oh right, Shane drove them here.

Ryan reached out for the keys, but Shane dangled it high above his head. _Motherfucker._

Ryan held his hand out. “Give them to me.” 

“Say please.”

Ryan took a deep breath. He reminded himself again that it’s a bad idea to kill Shane--Maryland might have abolished capital punishment, but a lifetime in jail was so not worth it. 

Ryan narrowed his eyes. “Give me. The. _Keys_.” 

Shane clicked his tongue. “Such terrible manners, Ryan.” 

“Shane, give me the fucking keys--”

“Say please, then--” 

Ryan let out a frustrated sigh. “Why are you being such a dick?”   
  


“I’m not, you are,” Shane retorted snarkily, cutting Ryan off preemptively when he opened his mouth to respond. “You’re the one that just ran off after a little fight,” he continued.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Oh, so you admit that this is a fight then?” 

“No, it’s not--”

“You just said it was a fight,” Ryan taunted, poking Shane’s chest. 

Shane made a discontented noise at that. He pocketed the keys again and tried to push Ryan’s hand off his chest, but Ryan refused to budge, kept poking him instead.

Shane huffed out an angry breath. “Stop that--” 

“No, you said this was a fight, but I didn’t fucking do anything--”

“Ryan--”

“So just fucking tell me, why are you picking a fight with me?” Ryan asked sharply, prodding harder at Shane’s chest.

“I don’t fucking know!” Shane bellowed, shoving Ryan away, hard.

Ryan felt the back of his head hit the rental with a loud thud. He gasped a little, more so in surprise than in any kind of pain. He never heard Shane yell like that before, or reacted so roughly towards him. 

“ _Shit_ , Ryan are you okay--”

“You pushed me.” Ryan heard himself say, thought he’s never heard his voice sounding that small. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Ryan.” Shane breathed, reaching out for him. Ryan felt his breath stutter when Shane suddenly threaded his fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. “Does it hurt?” 

Ryan made a small noise, not meeting Shane’s eyes. 

He heard Shane took a deep breath. “Ryan, I’m _so_ sor--”

“Why are you mad at me?” Ryan heard himself ask. He felt the older man’s fingers falter a little. He looked up at Shane, feeling a slight tightness in his chest. “What did I do?” 

Shane sighed heavily, eyes fluttering shut. “You didn’t do anything, bud. I was in a bad mood, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.” 

“You were in a bad mood all day.” Ryan said petulantly. “Why? You can tell me, man. Is everything ok?” 

Shane let out a low exhale, before opening his eyes and looking at Ryan apologetically. “Everything’s fine. I’m just--it’s not you, I promise. It’s okay.”

“Okay then.” Ryan relented, letting out a quiet sigh.

“Does it still hurt?” Shane murmured, deft fingers still massaging his scalp.

“No, it’s fine.” Ryan assured him. He ignored the strange feeling of loss when the older man’s fingers left his scalp.

“Alright.” Shane coughed a little, shuffling his feet inanely. He hesitated for a moment, before taking out the keys from his pocket and passing it to Ryan. “Here. You can go for a drive if you want, I’ll call you when the professor gets here.”

Ryan blinked at him. “I wasn’t going to go for a drive, you idiot.”

Shane looked confused. “What? Then why--”

“I just wanted to grab my other jacket from the car, it’s freezing out here.” Ryan said, shivering a little. 

“Oh…” Shane responded, relief evident in his tone. 

Ryan cocked his head at the older man, looking at him incredulously. Did Shane really think he would just, what, drive off after a little spat, in the middle of a shoot? Unbelievable. He told him as such. 

Shane flustered a little, before giving him a chagrined smile. “Yeah, I’m an idiot.” 

Ryan nodded at him in agreement.

“By the way, your other jacket’s not in the car, man. You spilled sauce on it earlier, remember? You put it in the sink to soak, back at the hotel.” Shane reminded him. 

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” Ryan sighed. “Nevermind then.” 

Ryan was just about to suggest that they head back to the entrance, when Shane suddenly unbuttoned his coat and put it around Ryan’s shoulders. 

“Shane, no, you’ll get cold--” 

“Nah, I won’t. I’m a midwesterner, this is nothing.” Shane said easily, pulling the coat tighter around him. 

“Well--okay, then.” Ryan tugged the coat around him. “Thanks, Shane.” he said, feeling warmer, though he’s not sure if it’s just because of the coat. 

“You’re welcome,” Shane said. He peered at the back of Ryan’s head. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I have a thick skull,” Ryan said, rubbing his head. “I fell on a bunch of bricks before dude, this was nothing.” 

“That...doesn’t make me feel better.” Shane sighed.

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel better,” Ryan quipped back, good-naturedly. 

Ryan felt his breath stutter again when Shane slides his hand back through his hair, lightly rubbing his scalp. “I really am sorry, Ryan,” Shane said ruefully, his hazel eyes tinged with remorse. 

“Really, Shane, it’s okay,” Ryan said, chuckling a little, batting his hand away. “Stop worrying.” 

“I can’t just stop worrying. You bumped your head--if you somehow ‘see ghosts’ later, it’s clearly because you have brain damage.”

“Fuck you,” Ryan said, laughing a little. “That’ll be kinda cool, actually--”

Shane snorted. “Of course you would think having brain damage would be cool--”

“That’s not what I said, you jackass--” 

“Seriously, Ryan, if you start spouting out ‘ _I see dead people_ ’ like in the sixth sense, I’m driving you straight to the hospital, whether you want to or not.” 

“Oh, yeah? And how are you gonna--” Ryan stopped abruptly when he heard a little honk in the distance. He turned around and saw the professor’s sleek SUV drive up towards the car park. “Oh, good, he’s here.” 

“Yeah. And he’s only--” Shane checked his watch. “--twenty minutes late.” 

Ryan sighed. “Shane, don’t start.”

“Okay, okay, sorry.” Shane held up his hands. “I’ll behave.” 

“Good,” Ryan said, nudging his side a little. “Ready?” Ryan asked, smiling up at him.

“Hell yeah.” Shane replied cheerily, returning his smile. “It’s showtime, baby.” 

Ryan huffed out a small laugh. “Don’t call me baby.” 

Shane laughed a little, before leaning in to ruffle his hair. 

“Whatever you say, baby.” 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> betaed by the lovely @[loveontherocks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveontherocks/pseuds/loveontherocks/works)
> 
> Some of you asked about how professor Shane looks like- at first I didn’t want to give a specific face-claim, cause I’d love for you guys to picture whoever you want- but since y’all asked, the prof is about 6’2, with light brown hair and blue eyes- I’ve been picturing Michiel Huisman cause- yeah you guessed it- he looks a lot like Shane. XD srsly, google him you guys.
> 
> Thank you for everyone who left lovely messages on my [tumblr](https://the-czar.tumblr.com)/comments here asking when am I updating this- ta daa! it's updated. Chapter 7 is also ready, will be up by this saturday-I promise, for real this time. Also, this fic will never be abandoned, I've drafted out 12 chapters before I even started, so yeah will definitely see thru this till the end. ^^ drop kudos or comments if you had fun <3 


	7. Chapter 7

“Right now, were heading to the exact spot where Doctor Lecter, also known as the Chesapeake Ripper, was last seen,” Ryan said into the camera, opening the doors and turning on the light switch at the entrance. “This room used to be his office, but the university tore most of it down and replaced it with a library. Due to strange occurrences that kept happening throughout the years, nobody has really set foot inside here. Well, until now,” Ryan said with a slight grin, walking backwards into the library. 

Shane wheezed a little when Ryan’s face immediately fell, his grin replaced with a look of trepidation. “Wow, it feels… weird in here.” 

“Really?” Shane said, grinning at him. “The air is a little musty, but that’s pretty normal for an old ass library.” 

“No, it’s not that--” Ryan said haltingly, eyes darting left and right. “It just feels… strange.” 

Shane tried, but he couldn’t stop himself from snorting out a little laugh. 

Ryan shot him a dirty look. “Shut up, Shane.”

Both of them walked further into the library, before standing right in the middle of it. The lighting in the room was dim, as none of the overhead light fixtures were working, save for a few yellow light bulbs near the entrance and in between the bookcases. 

“Are you sure you don’t feel strange?” Ryan asked suddenly, taking in a shaky breath. “You are so full of shit if you don’t feel strange right now.”

Shane made a great show of looking around the place, breathing in deeply. “Yeah, nope. Feels normal.” Shane sniffed again, for good measure. “The air is really musty thought, maybe your spidey senses are tingling because of the mold here--” 

Ryan closed his eyes, and breathed out a little sigh. “Jesus, Shane--”

“Hey, black mold can be really dangerous.” Shane continued, biting back a smile. “It can pose a serious threat to our lives.” Shane added, mock-serious. 

“Well, you know what else can pose a serious threat to our lives?” 

“What, Ryan.” 

“The ghost of Doctor Lecter, Baltimore’s most heinous serial killer to date.”

Shane gave a low sigh. 

_Doctor Hans Lecter was a lithuanian-american serial killer who_ _had murdered an estimate of 32 people--_

**_(low whistle) 32 people?_ **

_Yeah, and that’s just an estimate. Till this date, no expert could_ _determine a pattern in his killings--some say he killed at random,_ _to satisfy his thirst for human flesh._

**_Wait, so he eats his victims?_ **

_Yeah, he probably did. Doctor Lecter might not have a set pattern in his killings,_ _but all of his victims had one thing in common--they were all missing at least one_ _of their organs. Forensics found organ meat in the refrigerator in his home--_ _they ran tests on them, and yep, it was all human._

**_Yikes._ **

_(laughs) Yeah, yikes._

  
  


**_But he just got a little less scary, though,_ **

**_when you think about it._ **

_(sigh) I know I’m gonna regret asking this,_ _but why is he less scary now?_

**_Well, he’s not tearing through his victim’s flesh like an animal._** **_He probably cooked them. So essentially, him killing is just like, grocery shopping--_ **

_(wheeze) grocery shopping--_

**_(laughs) Yeah. He probably wasn’t satisfied with the quality_** **_of store meat--_ **

_Alright, ok--_

“The police received a tip from an anonymous source that Doctor Lecter was the Chesapeake Ripper, but when the police stormed in here, Doctor Lecter was nowhere to be found. What they did find, however--” Ryan continued, crouching down. “--was a large volume of fresh blood on the floor, as well as sprayed all over the walls.”

Ryan stood up, cocking his head towards the camera. “What’s strange is that all of the blood belonged to Lecter, and no one else. And the blood--there was more than a gallon of it, and it was fresh, which meant that Lecter was bled dry within minutes. There was no way he could’ve survived that, so the police suspected that he was killed here, and his body taken away. Some people think that the large amount of blood, plus the fact that there was no evidence of a scuffle that might point to another killer could mean that… Lecter wasn’t human.”

Shane raised an eyebrow at him. “Well then Ryan, what is he?”

Ryan took a deep breath. “Some say that he’s… a wendigo.”

**_Ok, let me get this straight. There’s lots of blood, his blood,_ _all over the walls and floors, but no body, and no signs of a killer?_ **

_Yup, no body, and there’s absolutely no concrete_ _leads on a killer either, if Doctor Lecter was actually killed._

_( **scoffs) Obviously he was killed, no man could**_ **_survive that much blood loss--_ **

_Well, ‘no man’ could._

**_(sigh) Are you really buying into this ‘Wendigo’ theory--_ **

_(wheeze) Well, maybe. He did kill people_ _to consume their flesh--_

**_So do cannibals, Ryan--_ **

_(sigh) Your unrelenting skepticism is exhausting--_

Shane made a little noise. “ So you actually think that Doctor Lecter was no ordinary, human being--that he’s a ‘mythical man-eating creature’ that somehow… bled out in his office?”

“Well, I have to admit, there is a possibility that he was murdered here, on account of all the blood. But the fact that there were no signs of a scuffle, and no sign whatsoever of another person being involved, is pretty strange indeed.”

Shane hummed. “So you don’t think there could just be a--a vigilante out there that just kills him and takes his body to bury it somewhere else?”

“No, I don’t think so. What person could just easily overpower a serial killer, drain his body of blood, then paint the walls and floors with it in record time, just before the police arrives?”

“It could be a very talented, neat, and strangely artistic vigilante, you don’t know.”

“Maybe. But it’s just not plausible--”

“Ryan, a ‘wendigo’ isn’t any more plausible--”

“It is, when you think about it--” Ryan stopped mid-sentence, jerking his head towards one of the bookcases. He immediately looked back at Shane with wide eyes. “Did you hear that?”

“No.” Shane replied honestly. “It’s an old library, Ryan, you probably heard a random noise.” Shane assured him. 

Ryan looked unconvinced, walking towards the bookcase. “It didn’t sound like a normal noise.” 

Shane followed him, and peered at the bookcase as well, to humour him.“It’s just the building settling.”

Ryan gulped and nodded, still staring at the bookcase. 

“I heard it too.” the professor blurted out, off camera. “Oh shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

Shane sighed a little, before flashing him a slight smile. “It’s ok, man. We’ll edit that out.” 

The professor looked at him strangely, obviously feeling a little suspicious at his amicable tone. Shane ignored his look, glancing down at his flashlight instead. He had already told Ryan he’ll behave, and he’s going to. He’s not going to let his annoyance and dislike of the professor show. He’ll behave himself, for Ryan’s sake.

Shane saw Ryan jump a little when a loud vibration was heard, somewhere behind them.

“Sorry, that’s me,” Devon apologised, before taking her phone out and typing quickly. “ I’m going to go outside okay, the signal here is kinda crap.” 

“Yeah, go ahead, it’s fine,” Teej said, focusing the camera. 

“Do you want me to come with you?” the professor asked. 

“Nah, I’m good,” Devon said, not even looking up from her phone. 

“No, really, I can come with, if you want,” the professor insisted. He looked calm, but Shane could detect a slight tremor in his voice. 

“Nah, it’s ok, you should stay--you can’t miss out on the spirit box session, it’s usually pretty fun. Bye guys!” Devon called out, walking out of the library, completely unfazed by the utter darkness. 

The professor sighed, his hands twitching a little at his sides. 

“You ok there, professor?” Shane asked, biting back a smirk at the man’s apparent uneasiness. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the professor quipped. Shane saw him flinch a little when the light bulb near him started flickering. 

“You can wait outside, if you want,” Ryan told him gently. 

The professor shook his head determinedly. “No, I’m fine. Sorry, I’m just--a little spooked from what you said,” the professor admitted, with a little laugh. “I’ve heard some stuff about him, when I was a student here, but nothing about him being a wendigo.”

Ryan’s eyes lit up. “You were a student here back then?” 

The professor gave an affirmative nod. “I was a first year undergrad at that time.” 

“That’s really interesting,” Ryan said, looking intrigued. “Um, if you’re okay with it... maybe you can tell us a bit about that on camera? I’m sure everyone would love to hear all about it.” Ryan said, flashing him a hopeful smile. 

The professor blinked at him, looking a little torn, but he nodded, walking over to them and standing beside Ryan. “Yeah sure, why not.” 

“Okay, great.” Ryan beckoned him to come closer, helping him get mic'd up.

The professor took a deep breath after Ryan was done, and faced the camera. “So uh, Hi everyone. I’m Professor Shane Manseau, I teach archeology and anthropology here at John Hopkins. Doctor Lecter disappeared when I was a student here--I remembered the university being closed for two weeks during the investigation. I don’t remember much about him, to be honest. I’m from the archeology department, and Doctor Lecter taught philosophy. I’ve only met him once, during a mandatory group research presentation… he seemed pretty normal, if not a little eccentric.”

Ryan made a little noise. “Can you tell us your impression of him?” 

The professor elaborated a bit more. It was good stuff, and Shane knew it’ll look good on video. The professor had a natural presence on camera, and he is quite handsome, Shane had to begrudgingly admit. He’s aware enough of their fanbase to know that they’ll enjoy watching the professor ramble on about his encounter with the infamous serial killer. 

When the professor was finished, Ryan asked him about ‘the stuff’ he heard. The professor responded saying that there were many students that tried to contact his ‘ghost’ back in the day, to the point that the library was shut down, because too many students were sneaking in to hold seances there at night. 

“I had a senior once that did a ouija board session here, apparently. She had this crazy theory that spirits respond better when you try to reach out to them in their first language.” The professor shrugged, before snorting a little. “The only reason I knew about it was because she wanted to ask him questions in his native tongue, and I was one of the few people here who knew the language.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “You speak Lithuanian?” Ryan asked, looking impressed.

“Yeah. I speak French and Spanish, too,” the professor said, with a little smirk. “I’m half Latvian, so I’m actually fluent in the Latvian language, but Lithuanian is pretty similar, so it wasn’t too hard to learn.”

“Nice. I wish I knew more languages,” Ryan said wistfully. “I’m half Mexican and I can barely speak Spanish. I’m a shame in my family.”

The professor chuckled. “Come on, no you’re not.” 

“I am.” Ryan insisted, sighing a little. “I should really learn it, thought, it’s embarrassing, especially when I visit Mexico.”

“Well, I’ll be happy to teach you, if you’d like,” the professor replied. “You’re _muy guapo_ , you can’t just walk around Mexico without knowing some Spanish. They’ll eat you alive,” he said teasingly, tone a tad too flirtatious. 

Ryan let out a self-conscious laugh, ducking his head. Even in the low light, Shane knew the camera would pick up on Ryan blushing--the younger man’s face was flushed a dark red. 

Shane coughed loudly, and Ryan abruptly stopped laughing. 

“Um, okay. So, uh--that was really interesting! Thanks for sharing with us your experience with Doctor Lecter, Professor.” Ryan said. 

“ _De nada_ , _guapo_ ,” the professor replied smoothly, winking at Ryan. 

Ryan’s blush only intensified at his cheeks. 

Shane let out a listless snort. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but can we please contact the, uh, spirit of Doctor Lecter now.”

“Right, um.” Ryan cleared his throat. “Well, uh, we were about to do the spirit box session as usual, but after what the professor just said, I think it would be a great idea to reach out to Doctor Lecter in Lithuanian instead,” Ryan said, smiling up at the professor. “Since you speak the language, professor, perhaps you’d like to do the honours?” 

Shane watched with glee when the professor’s smile faded, colour immediately draining from his face. “Um.. you want me to… contact Doctor Lecter?” The professor asked, haltingly. 

“Um, yeah. Just to ask him a few questions. Would that be okay?” Ryan asked tentatively.

The professor paused for a beat. “Uh, yeah sure,” he replied, with a little cough. Shane noted how the professor looked seemingly stolid, but there was still a slight tremor to his tone. 

“Okay, I’m going to turn this on now.” Ryan announced, before switching the spirit box on. 

All of them, save for Teej, collectively flinched when Ryan turned it on, the loud screeching noises practically reverberating throughout the library. 

“Okay, go ahead, Shane.” Ryan encouraged, looking at the professor. Shane wondered if the fans would notice that Ryan didn’t refer to the man as ‘professor’ this time. 

The professor nodded, clearing his throat a little. He stared at the box in poorly disguised trepidation. 

Shane waited a beat, before snickering lightly . “Well, any day now, professor.” Shane said, giving him a sardonic smile. 

The professor shot him a dirty look, before nodding tightly, like he was holding himself back from decking Shane. 

“Maybe you can say hi to him?” Ryan said, holding up the spirit box. 

The professor cleared his throat. “ _Sveiki_ …Doctor Lecter.” 

The spirit box continued its garbled wailing for few minutes, long enough that Shane was about to say something, when suddenly--

“ _Svee-iki_ ” the spirit box spat out. It was quite clear, Shane had to admit. Clear enough for him to discern that it almost sounded like a male voice. 

“Holy shit.” Ryan sputtered out, eyes wide. “Doesn’t that sound like--”

“Yes, it does. It said ‘hello’,” the professor breathed out, an inscrutable look on his face. 

Ryan gulped, before looking up at the professor. “Can you ask him if he’s here with us?”

The professor nodded, before shakily repeating Ryan’s question.

The spirit box garbled a bit, before spitting out “ _Taip_.” in the same raspy male tone. 

The professor flinched, before letting out a little cough. “Okay, um--”

“What--what did it say?” Ryan asked, looking at him.

“It uh--it sounded like _taip_ . _Taip_ means ‘yes’,” the professor said, haltingly. 

The room was silent, save for the garbled sounds of the spirit box. 

Ryan cleared his throat. “Can you--um, can you ask him who killed him?” Ryan said, tremor evident in his voice. 

The professor swallowed a little before repeating Ryan’s question.

The spirit box continued it’s garbled sounds, spouting nothing decipherable.

Shane waited till he could feel the beginnings of a migraine at the back of his head. “I think he’s not in the mood to talk anymore, guys,” Shane said lightly. 

Ryan shushed him. “Shane, can you repeat the question?” 

The professor paused for a beat before doing what Ryan asked. 

The spirit box’s wailing became lower, almost static like. 

“I’m getting goosebumps,” Ryan exhaled. 

“Same here.” the professor said, swallowing hard.

Ryan turned to look at him. “Shane, are you getting goose--oh my god you’re getting goosebumps too, oh my god--”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I’m not scared or anything, it’s just involuntary.” Shane replied, looking at his own arm. It wasn’t _that_ strange. This happened once before, at Hannah’s house--and there was nothing there either. It’s probably the air. 

Shane looked at the spirit box, cocking his head a little. He then looked at them, noting how both Ryan and the professor were staring at the spirit box with bated breath. 

The spirit box wailed for a few more seconds, before it suddenly spat out in the same raspy tone, “ _Mano mylimasis._ ”

The professor jumped back with a curse, shooting Ryan a look of disbelief. 

“What did that--did that mean something? What did he say?” Ryan asked shakily. 

The professor collected himself, standing a little further away from Ryan. “Um. _Mano--Mano_ _mylimasis_ means ‘my lover’. ‘Beloved’.” The professor stuttered out, before clearing his throat. “Um, you--” the professor continued, voice sounding shaky, “You. um. You said this scans through radio right--can it--can it get Lithuanian radio--”

“I don’t think so,” Ryan said, biting his lip, eyes going wide as dinner plates. 

“We should go,” the professor blurted out. “Lets just, um, lets leave--”

“So was it your lover that killed you, Doctor?” Shane cut the professor off mid-sentence, gesturing towards the box. “Damn, that’s rough. Wanna tell us more about it?”

The professor cursed under his breath, stepping back reflexively from the both of them. 

“Shane, don’t--” Ryan admonished, looking at him nervously. 

“How did your lover do it, Doctor?” Shane continued. “Tell us more. Preferably, in more than two words--at least three words, can you do that?”

The spirit box continued it’s usual garbled wailing. Shane felt a strange sense of coldness in his spine, something that could be dread, even though he felt zero fear. _Interesting._

“Tell us, in excruciating detail, how your beloved kill you--better yet, why don’t you show us.” 

“Shane, what the fuck--” Ryan said in a panicked tone. 

“Come on, Lecter! You killed all those people, but you’re afraid to talk to a couple of goons?” Shane goaded. “Come on, show us who killed you, you pathetic, sad fuck!” 

Immediately after Shane yelled, multiple things happened at once. 

A strange, almost animalistic sound can be heard on the spirit box. It was so loud, it practically resonated throughout the library--right after that, several heavy bound books suddenly fell, hitting Ryan, who immediately keeled over on the floor. 

The professor shrieked, leaping away from the bookcase.

“Ryan!” Shane shouted before diving towards him, bracketing the younger man’s body under him.

“Are you okay? Ryan look at me, are you okay” Shane knows he’s rambling, but he barely noticed it over his own thudding heart. Shane put his arms around Ryan, pulling him close. 

Shane breathed a sigh of relief when Ryan opened his eyes. The younger man shook his head a little, before groaning out a small, “Ow.” 

“Okay, buddy, you’re okay. Can you stand up? Come on lil guy, easy does it,” Shane heard himself saying, gently pulling the younger man up.

“Yeah, yeah, I think I can,” Ryan replied shakily, getting up, leaning heavily on Shane. Shane held on to the younger man tightly, steadying him. 

“Ryan, are you okay?” Teej’s worried voice can be heard behind the camera.

“What the fuck are you doing, turn it off!” the professor snapped at Teej, pushing the camera away. 

“Hey man--” Teej said, pulling the camera away from his grasp.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Ryan said, grimacing. He touched his cheek and hissed; his hand came away with blood. 

Shane made a small noise, feeling his heart thudding rapidly in his chest. 

“Ryan, you’re bleeding--” the professor said, stating the obvious, before moving towards Ryan, hand outstretched. 

Before Shane realized what he was doing, he had slapped the professor’s hand away, before putting his own hand under Ryan’s chin, tilting it towards him. “Ryan, how do you feel?” he asked, keeping his voice calm, despite the fact that his heart was beating so loud he could feel it in his ears.

“Um, I feel fine--I think the book hit me on the face, not my head. Does it look bad?” Ryan said, turning his cheek a little towards him.

Shane traced his finger on Ryan’s cheek, wiping away a trickle of blood. He inspected the cut, and breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s not deep, you’re okay.”

“Hurts a little.” Ryan said, wincing a bit. 

“Yeah, I know” Shane said softly, pulling down his sleeve, dabbing gently at the cut. “Come on, we should get it cleaned.”

“I’ll- I’ll get the medic kit” the professor said, voice sounding strangled, hightailing out of the library. 

Teej set his camera down and said he would get Devon, before walking out of the library as well. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Shane asked quietly, eyes not leaving him. He realized belatedly that he was still holding Ryan tightly in his arms. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ryan reassured him. He looked around them. “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, some bullshit. There’s probably a draft in here, or that fucking idiot knocked over the shelf--”

“No, it can’t be, didn't you hear--didn’t you hear the sound?” Ryan said, voice sounding shaky. “It was like, demonic--”

Shane sighed, instinctively tightening his hold on the younger man. “Ryan--”

“It wasn’t human,” Ryan insisted, sounding breathless. Shane didn’t respond. He rubbed the younger man’s back soothingly and stared at him, noting the dark bruise forming under the cut on his cheek, which had stopped bleeding.

“There was a strange sound.” Shane admitted, finally releasing Ryan from his hold. “But it’s probably just static.”

Ryan doesn’t look convinced. 

Shane sighed again. He looked around them, at the fallen books. “Hope these weren’t expensive.” Shane said lightly. “You probably destroyed them with your big ol’ head.”

Ryan huffed out a faint wheeze. He looked at the mess around them, before snapping his eyes back on an open book. He walked over to the bookcase, picking the book up. 

Shane quickly went to his side. “Ryan, the bookcase isn’t stable, don’t stand there--”

“Shane, look at this.” 

Shane pulled the younger man away from the bookcase first, before looking at the book he was holding. There was a parchment with a sketch inside, that Shane can’t quite make out in the low light. 

“Shane, get the camera.”

Shane looked at him dumbfoundedly. “What?”

“Please, just do it.”

Shane paused for a beat before doing what Ryan wanted. 

Shane pointed the camera at Ryan, filming him as he picked up a flashlight and shined it on the book.

Ryan cleared his throat. “Um, I just got hit by a book. Er, multiple books, I think--but there’s no draft in here, and the bookcases look pretty steady--God, why am I saying this, there’s a clip of that right? Teej was still rolling?”

“Yeah, he was. Go on, it’s fine, we can cut it later.” Shane said, keeping the camera steady on him. 

“Um, I think this was the book that hit me--we can check the footage later, but I’m pretty sure it’s this one. There’s a drawing inside it,” Ryan said, shining the flashlight on the parchment. 

Shane could see from the viewfinder that it was a sketch of a nude man from behind, with arrows piercing through him.

“This drawing… was probably done by Doctor Lecter.” Ryan said, tapping the edge of the parchment. “It’s signed by him.” 

Ryan let out a low breath, closing the book. “Um… I don’t know--I don’t know if it’s true--I guess none of us will ever know, but. If his love had killed him, I guess this could be his lover. Shane did tell him to show us who it was.” Ryan said, mouth quirking a little. “Why is it that whenever something weird happens, it’s always because of you?” Ryan sighed, shaking his head and smiling up at him. 

Shane huffed out a small laugh. “Guess I’m just a ghost magnet.” Shane looked back through the viewfinder. “Is there anything else you want to add?” 

“Uh, yeah. I think--I know this sounds crazy, but I think Doctor Lecter’s spirit is still here.” Ryan said, biting his lip, looking at Shane. 

Shane focused the camera on Ryan. “Is there anything you want to say to him?” 

Ryan exhaled, before looking up at the bookcase. “Um. Doctor Lecter. If you’re here--we’re sorry we disturbed you. We don’t agree with what you did. All the people you killed. We hope they find peace. But we hope you find peace too, Doctor Lecter.” Ryan said, before walking towards the bookcase again and gently placing the book inside it. “We hope you find peace.” 

-  
  


Devon fussed over Ryan, arguing with them on whether they should go to the hospital. Teej said it doesn’t look that bad, but Shane almost wanted to agree with her--he remembered ruefully that earlier that night he had bumped Ryan’s head on the rental, and now the younger man was sporting a bruise and big bandage on the cut on his cheek. It was definitely not a good night for Ryan, health-wise. 

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Ryan whined, batting Devon’s hands away from his face. “I’m fine, let’s just go back to the hotel.” 

“You could have fractured your skull,” Devon barked, tugging his face down to stare at his head, as if a fractured skull was something you could see with the naked eye. “You could have a concussion--”

“I told you, the book didn’t hit my head, just my face.” Ryan repeated, sighing. “Right, Shane?” he asked.

Shane felt Devon glare at him, as if daring him to contradict her. He looked at Ryan, and felt himself waver at the sight of the younger man’s wide, plaintive brown eyes.

He sighed. “Yeah, it didn’t hit his head. It--it doesn’t look that bad, Dev, I’m sure he’s fine. I’ll check on him throughout the night--if it gets worse, I’ll drive him to the hospital.” Shane said determinedly.

“See? Problem solved.” Ryan said, smiling at her. 

Devon shook her head, sighing deeply. “Fine,” she snapped, finally relenting, before glaring at Shane. “You better fucking take care of him tonight, Madej.”

“Yes ma’am.” Shane said, saluting her. 

“I’m not a fucking baby--” Ryan began but abruptly stopped when Devon shot him a a murderous glare as well. “Ok yep, _I’m baby_ , Shane will take care of me.” 

Devon nodded. “That’s what I want to hear.”

Shane muffled his laugh, staring fondly at them. Ryan suddenly looked distracted, glancing at somewhere behind Devon. Shane followed his gaze and saw the professor leaning against his SUV. He was parked a little further away from them--Shane couldn’t make out much from the distance, but he could see that the professor still look somewhat rattled. 

_Good_ , Shane thought to himself spitefully. 

Ryan cleared his throat, before glancing back at them. “Um, I’m gonna--I’m gonna say bye to him for a sec, real quick.”

Devon nodded, opening the car door, getting inside. “Don’t take too long.” 

Shane jerked a nod at him, before leaning back against their rental. 

Ryan shot him a quick smile, before jogging towards the professor. Shane watched him go, could see him saying something to the professor. He can’t hear anything from this distance, but he still kept his eyes on them. 

He felt his gut lurch a little when he saw the professor suddenly take Ryan’s face in his hands, before gently kissing him on his uninjured cheek.

“That fucker ran away quick, huh.” Teej suddenly spoke up, somewhere behind him. 

“Hm?” Shane said, tearing his eyes away from them to look at Teej questioningly. 

“He jumped away like a little scared turd.”

  
Shane snorted derisively. “Yeah. Can’t believe he tried to smack the camera away. ”

Teej opened the trunk, hefting up his camera bag inside it. He shot Shane a quick glance. “I kept recording, because I knew Ryan would want the footage.” 

Shane was about to tell him that he didn’t need to clarify himself, that Teej did exactly what Ryan would want, but he barely opened his mouth when Teej suddenly held out his hand, stopping him preemptively. “I didn’t stop, because I knew you would go to him. That you would keep him safe.” 

Shane stared at Teej, unsure how to respond. Shane broke off his gaze and cleared his throat instead. 

“Keep him safe, Shane.” Teej said, a strange expression on his face, the odd tone of his voice adding layered meaning to his words. 

Shane nodded, not really meeting his eyes. 

Moments later, Ryan came jogging back towards them, cheeks tinted pink. “Okay, lets go,” he said breathlessly, opening the car door and getting inside the passenger seat. 

“Yeah, okay,” Shane replied distractedly, before getting inside the car as well. 

  
-  
  


Shane scrolled on reddit, not really focusing on anything. He’s too worked up to even think about sleeping. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he still feels rattled from tonight’s events. 

It was definitely not a ghost. It could be a million things before it could be a ghost. The spirit box? Pseudo science. The fact that it spewed ‘Lithuanian’ was bullshit. Shane bet if he shoved the spirit box towards some random people in a different country, Russia or whatever, they would be able to somehow discern some Russian words in between the garbled noise. 

As for the books falling, that, admittedly, was a little strange. But there could be a draft, an open window somewhere. A goddamn racoon could’ve snuck in and knocked them over. There was construction going on the building beside it, so maybe that made the bookcases unstable. The point was, there was always something. 

So, no, he wasn’t rattled about any of that. What rattled him is that out of all the places they’ve been, this was the first time he had felt genuine fear. 

Shane had never felt more afraid in his life, than when he saw Ryan keel over on the ground. 

Shane was wretched away from his thoughts when he heard a loud clatter in the bathroom, followed by a curse. He immediately leaped up from his bed and rushed to the bathroom, slamming the door open.

“Fuck, Shane, what the fuck--” Shane saw a flash of tanned skin, before Ryan dissapeared behind the shower curtain. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

Shane ignored him, stepping closer towards the shower. “Are you okay?”

“Fuck, I’ve already told you, I’m fine.” Ryan said, sounding exasperated. 

Shane stayed where he was. 

“Are you--are you going to just stand there?”

Shane didn't respond, but he didn’t move away either. 

Shane could hear Ryan sigh behind the curtain. “Okay, I’m done anyway, Jesus.” Ryan’s hand popped up from the edge of the curtain.”Um, can you pass me my towel?”

Shane grabbed the towel and wordlessly passed it to him. 

Ryan took it with a small _thanks_. Shane could see the vague outline of Ryan’s silhouette, see him wrap the towel around his waist, before yanking the curtain open to step out from the bath. 

Shane didn’t realize he was wordlessly staring until Ryan had apparently said something to him.

“Um, what?”

Ryan sighed. “I said, are you okay? You look a little pale,” Ryan said, peering up at him. 

“I’m fine--Ryan, you’re the one that got hurt,” Shane chided him.

“It’s just a little cut, man. See, it’s almost gone.” Ryan replied, turning his cheek towards him. Shane could see that the cut was most certainly not gone, but it did look less angry. It was a clean thin line, right above his cheekbone. 

“It looks better,” Shane said, knowing that his voice sounded somewhat strained.

Ryan hummed in agreement, before looking up at him hesitatingly. “Um--actually, since you’re here, can you take a look at my back for a sec?” Ryan said, turning around. “Can you see if--” Ryan took a deep breath. “--if there’s like, a scratch or something--”

Shane stared at the golden expanse of Ryan’s back. His eyes following a bead of water from his neck, down the line of his back.He shook his head and swallowed. “Um, no. No scratches.” 

“You sure?” Ryan asked, sounding nervous. 

“Yeah.” Shane replied, exhaled shakily. His eyes suddenly flickered towards Ryan’s shoulder. “Um, wait, there’s a little--” Shane’s hand seemed to move on its own, fingers trailing on the heated skin of Ryan’s shoulder. 

He hears Ryan’s soft intake of breath, and it made his heart skip a beat. 

“There’s a little--you’re a little red here.” Shane said evenly, fingers lightly tracing the bruise. “No demonic claws or anything, it’s just--it’s probably just a bruise from the books,” Shane finished, voice rough. Shane swallowed, hard, and pulled his hand away from Ryan’s warm skin.

“Oh, okay,” Ryan said before turning around again, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Shane.” Ryan smiled up at him. 

“No problem,” Shane replied quietly. Shane’s eyes darted towards the little bead of water trailing down Ryan’s neck, towards his collarbone. Shane wonders if maybe he had been hit in the head, too. It sure would explain why he suddenly felt a little light-headed, mind filled with strange thoughts and urges--like the urge to kiss the younger man infront of him. 

Shane felt his heart stutter as the realization dawned on him. He wanted to kiss Ryan.

He wanted to kiss his best friend. 

_Oh fuck._

Shane was startled out of his reverie when Ryan poked his chest lightly. “Um. Earth to Shane. You in there, bud?” Ryan asked tentatively, looking at him awkwardly. 

“Yeah, uh. Sorry. I’ll, uh. I’ll let you get dressed,” Shane replied mechanically, abruptly turning away and shutting the door. 

Shane was listlessly staring at his laptop when Ryan finally came out, towelling his hair. 

“Watcha doing?” Ryan asked him, settling on the other bed. 

“Uh. Nothing,” Shane replied, shutting his laptop. “How are you feeling?”

Ryan let out a low groan. “Shane, I promise you, the minute I feel even remotely weird, I’ll tell you. So please, for the love of God, _stop asking_.” 

“Fine, sheesh,” Shane said, raising his hands. “You don’t have to get snippy about it.” 

Ryan shot him a look, before sighing a little. “Sorry, I’m just--I’m tired of everyone coddling me over a tiny scratch. I had basketball injuries worse than this dude. _Way_ worse.”

“Yeah, you’re invincible alright,” Shane retorted, before putting away his laptop and lying down on his bed.

“You goddamn right I am.” Ryan hummed, lying down on his bed as well. 

They lie in a comfortable silence for a bit, before Shane spoke up. 

“I’m actually a little surprised that you’re fine right now.” Shane admitted. “I thought you were gonna go catatonic or something, after what happened.”

“Dude same, actually.” Ryan confessed, letting out a small, embarrassed laugh. “I think I was a little terrified, but it’s hard to stay scared with all of you breathing down my neck.”

“Yeah,” Shane said. He waits a beat, before deciding to confess as well. “I got kinda scared too, actually.” 

Ryan made a little surprised noise. “Really?” 

“Yeah.”

“When?” 

Shane breathed out evenly, looking up at the ceiling. “When you got hurt.” 

Shane heard Ryan’s slight intake of breath. “Were you really that worried about me?” Ryan murmured, voice tinged with wonder. 

Shane stared blankly at the ceiling, noting the old fashioned swirly patterns. He hasn’t seen that pattern since he was a kid--this hotel must really be old, if they’re still incorporating ceiling patterns from the nineties. 

“You don’t have to worry about me, you know. I can take care of myself.” Ryan continued, after a beat of silence. 

“I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself,” Shane finally replied, sighing a little. “I’m just saying--I only felt afraid when I thought you got hurt. So yeah, I was scared.”

_You scare me, in more ways than one._

“Okay. Sorry about that.” Ryan said softly. Shane turned on his side, and saw Ryan staring at him, expression unreadable. 

“It’s fine. Just don’t do it again.” 

Ryan snorted out a little laugh. “What, get hurt? I can’t make any promises.” 

“Well, just try, anyway.”

Ryan hummed, burrowing his head in his pillow. 

They stayed quiet for a bit. Shane could practically hear his own soft breathing synching in time with Ryan’s.

Shane’s eyes was just about to drift shut, when he heard Ryan pipe up “You know, it’s funny, but Shane said the same thing, too.” 

Shane felt a sliver of ire in his gut. “Shane told you to promise not to get hurt?” 

“No, he said the other thing. About how he only felt scared when I got hurt.”

Shane snorted. “What a bunch of baloney. That asshole was already quaking before you even turned on the goddamn spirit box. I thought he was going to shit himself. ” 

Ryan let out a wheeze. “Yeah, he was pretty scared. But you can’t blame him though--not everyone is batshit insane like you, Shane. You just taunted the ghost of a serial killer.” 

“Taunted air,” Shane corrected him. “Air, Ryan. That’s why I’m so flippant about it.” 

“Yeah, okay, fine.” Ryan relented. “I’m pretty sure that he didn’t know that you’re a skeptic. He probably thought you were either crazy, or insanely brave.” 

“I hope he thinks the latter, cause that would be hilarious. He can stew in bed, thinking he completely ruined his chances with you by being such a wimpy little turd.”

Ryan wheezed into his pillow. “You’re so mean.” 

“Hey, it’s the truth.”

“Maybe.” Ryan hummed. “Even if that is true, his chances aren’t completely ruined.” Ryan said, looking thoughtful. 

“How come?” Shane asked calmly, clenching his jaw so tight he could almost hear his own teeth creak. 

“Well, I would be a hypocrite if I judged potential partners based on how brave they are, especially when I’m not that brave myself,” Ryan explained, raising his eyebrows at him. 

Shane made a non-committal sound, before meeting the younger man’s gaze. “So you don’t want a Daddy that’s brave?” he asked bluntly. 

Shane watched Ryan turn red at his words, blushing even darker than the bruise on his cheek. “Oh, ha-ha. Shut up, Shane.” 

“I’m serious,” Shane said, smirking a little. “You said he wanted you to call him Daddy. What good is a Daddy if he’s a wimp?” 

Ryan huffed out an irritated breath. “Shane, do we really have to talk about this right now?” he said, squirming a little under the covers. 

“You don’t have to reply me if you don’t want to.” Shane reassured him, biting back a grin. 

Ryan sighed, and stared at the ceiling. “I--I don’t care about that, man--all I know is that--um..” Ryan trailed off, biting his lip. 

Shane kept quiet, waiting for Ryan to continue. 

Ryan let out a deep breath, eyes fluttering shut. “What I meant was--I don’t...need uh, a brave Daddy. I just need to feel safe around him,” Ryan said, colouring a little. 

“So… does he do that for you? Make you feel safe?” Shane asked, voice tight.

Ryan hummed. “Maybe. I don’t know him well enough, we basically just met.” 

“Well, you know he can’t protect you from ghostly things.” 

Ryan huffed out a small laugh. “Shut up, that doesn’t matter--that’s what I have you for.” Ryan replied, giving him a soft smile. 

Shane felt his heart drop in his chest, thudding somewhere at the bottom of his stomach. “Yeah.” he replied, before leaning over to switch the light off. “Night Ryan.” 

“Night, Shane.” Ryan hummed, burrowing himself deeper under the covers.

Shane closed his eyes, but he couldn’t manage to fall asleep. He was exhausted, but his head was swirling with thoughts, most of them centering on the baffling man sleeping on the bed next to him.

Shane was done tip-toeing around the fact that he was probably developing a little crush on Ryan. It felt almost raw, new, but also familiar at the same time. He knew he had felt some sort of attraction for the younger man, even way back when they were just interns, but he had always pushed it aside. It was easy, especially since they immediately became good friends. 

Shane wasn’t by any means neat, but he kept his relationships and friendships in neat little boxes in his mind. But as their friendship grew, Shane was slowly realizing that the box Ryan was in, firmly labelled ‘best friend’, was slowly getting too small for Ryan, the contents spilling over everywhere, making a mess in his mind, and in his heart. 

Shane sighed, thinking to himself determinedly that after this trip, he was going to take a long break and focus on other things in his life, giving this stupid crush some time to fade. He’s sure it can die down, and it had to die down because having a crush on Ryan was akin to self-destruction--it would meant risking it all; their friendship, work, everything. It wasn’t worth it, he told himself resolutely. Not worth it at all. _Don’t be stupid,_ he admonished himself. 

Shane was still admonishing his own stupid brain for developing a stupid crush on stupid Ryan with his stupid Daddy kink when exhaustion finally took over, and he fell into a fitful sleep. 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> betaed by @loveontherocks! 
> 
> for all of you that missed the 'slow burn' tag on this fic, my apologies-- when I say slow burn, I truly meant
> 
> _slow burn_
> 
> lol (honestly its been 7 chapters and Shane is only just admitting to himself that he's got a crush) 
> 
> things will fly a little faster after this, stay tuned! ^^


	8. Chapter 8

Ryan knew he was having a nightmare. 

A lucid nightmare—it didn’t happen often, but it has happened before—and it always happened right after a particularly harrowing supernatural shooting.

This one wasn’t particularly bad. He was at Chapman University, his alma mater, but it looked and felt different—wrong, menacing even. He tried leaving, but every door he went through led him right back to where he was—a narrow hallway with flickering overhead lights. 

_It’s not that bad,_ Ryan said to himself, right before he felt a dark shadow looming behind him.

 _This isn’t so bad, it’s fine, you’re fine,_ he repeated to himself over and over as he picked up his pace to a rapid stride, hurrying down the hallway as quickly as he could. The shadow followed him, growing bigger each second. A scuttling sound caused him to turn his head, looking around for the source of the noise. There were nothing but empty walls around him; the scuttling sounds had moved towards the ceiling, right above his head. 

Ryan kept walking, shaking his head firmly at the sight of the shadow. _It’s just a dream. None of this is real._ Ryan told himself desperately, but he still couldn’t muster the courage to look up.

 _Just because you’re dreaming, doesn’t mean it’s not real,_ an insidious voice in the back of his head whispered. _It could’ve followed you, and waited until you’re fast asleep to get you._

He stared at the floor and saw that whatever the _thing_ was, it’s shadow showed that it had long, twisted looking claws.

Ryan started running. 

His heart rate was accelerating, and he knew he was practically hyperventilating, but there was nothing he could do but stare straight ahead and just keep running. It wasn’t real, it couldn’t be real, it was all just a fucked up nightmare, but it all _felt_ so gut-wrenchingly real. 

He could see from the corner of his eye that the thing was scuttling faster on the ceiling, getting even closer to him. Ryan felt his heartbeat spike, could practically feel his heart stuttering in his chest.

 _Wake up, please wake up,_ Ryan told himself desperately. _Come on, wake up, just wake up—_

The floor moved, or maybe he tripped, he wasn’t sure—all he knew was that he was falling head first onto the ground.

The shadow was getting even closer and pretty soon it would be on him, and he’d have to look at the monster, and it probably looked so gruesome and horrible that it would make him scream, maybe even wake Shane up—

Shane. _Shane._

Maybe Shane was here. He was lucid dreaming, right? Maybe he could make Shane appear. Shane would scare it off. Shane would say to it that it wasn’t real, that it was imaginary. Shane would—

Ryan suddenly heard the monster laugh behind him—a growling, throaty gurgle that chilled him to his bones. 

“Shane!” Ryan shouted, but no sound came out. “Shane!” he tried again. He could feel desperation in his bones. “Shane!” he screamed, could finally hear himself but it sounded hoarse and choked; like it emanated from his guts, not from his throat.

_“Ryan, you’re dreaming.”_

Ryan looked up and saw Shane at the end of the hallway, standing by an open door. Ryan scrambled to his feet and ran towards him, was just about to reach him when he suddenly felt his feet rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch. 

The monster had latched onto him with a vice grip. 

Ryan struggled and held his arm out, trying to reach out to Shane, but Shane just stood there, staring at him. The monster was enveloping him, he could feel it, the tendrils of darkness licking the back of his neck, about to consume him whole. 

“Shane.” Ryan could hear himself whimper, could feel the tears overflowing from his eyes. “Shane, please.” He started to sob, barely any air entering his lungs, making it painful to even cry. Shane was right there, he was _right there_ , but Ryan couldn't reach him. The monster was going to kill him, and then it was going to kill Shane, and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Ryan gasped when he suddenly felt Shane’s hand on his face, caressing his cheek. It felt so real—he could feel the the warmth of his hand, the slight calluses on his fingertips. 

The monster released him instantly, fading into nothingness. 

_“It’s just a dream, Ryan.”_ Dream Shane says. His hand was still on his face—Ryan could feel his thumb wipe the tears on his cheeks. 

Ryan sighed contently, nuzzling into the hand, soaking up the warmth, feeling it blanket him like an armour, keeping him safe. 

He knows for sure now that it’s all a dream, because this would have never happened in real life. Real Shane never would have comforted him like this. Real Shane would have patted his back, while looking at him with the usual concerned look in his downturned puppy eyes. It never failed to give him a sliver of comfort—wasn’t much, but it was more than enough.

Dream Shane didn’t do that—he caressed Ryan’s face gently instead, letting him bury his face into his palm. He could feel Shane’s other hand stroke his hair, the soft, sure touch grounding him. 

He could feel the darkness fade, the university disappearing—they were suddenly in a clear ocean, and it was sunny and warm. 

It feels like home. 

_“It’s just a dream, baby. Just a dream. You’re okay.”_ Dream Shane murmured.

_‘I’m here, baby.’_

Ryan felt himself slowly getting pulled under by the waves, with only Shane’s soft touch keeping him afloat.

He’s sinking now, can feel himself sinking deeper into the ocean but it doesn’t scare him—he knew everything was fine. Shane was here. 

He was safe.

-  
  


Shane jolted awake. He wasn't sure what had woken him up until he heard Ryan call out his name. He glanced at the other bed and saw the younger man thrashing in his sleep, limbs moving restlessly, a sheen of sweat covering his forehead. 

Shane stumbled out of his bed, walking the short distance towards Ryan's bed. He sat on it gingerly, wondering if the movement was enough to wake Ryan up. The younger man remained asleep, mumbling incoherently, his eyebrows pulled into a troubled frown. 

Ryan was having a nightmare. Shane never saw it happen before, but he had heard about it—Ryan had told him he usually woke up screaming when it gets really bad, but he wasn’t waking up now.

“Ryan, you’re dreaming.” Shane said quietly. Ryan didn’t respond, still in deep sleep. Shane stared at the younger man, debated for a while whether he should wake him up or let him sleep. He read somewhere that you should never wake someone up from a night terror, that it would do more harm than good— 

Shane was startled out of his thoughts when Ryan suddenly shifted violently in his sleep, fingers clutching the blankets underneath him. A strangled “Shane,” fell from Ryan’s mouth, forehead creasing.

Shane breathed out slowly, at loss at what to do. He wanted to comfort his best friend, but kept his hands balled into fists in his lap instead, trying to resist the temptation. Ryan might not even be calling out for him, he reasoned with himself, staring down at the the younger man’s writhing form. The little guy has another Shane in his life now— 

“Shane, please,” Ryan mumbled, letting out a whimper that sounded like he was in actual pain, and it was like a stab right to the heart. Shane held his breath, and he could swear that even his heart paused for a beat or two. And then tears silently fell from Ryan’s still closed eyes, rolling down his cheeks. Shane couldn’t bear to watch it any longer—couldn’t help but feel like he was responsible for this, that he had pushed too hard, and now Ryan was plagued by nightmares because of it. It was too much, and before he knew it his hands were reaching out to touch Ryan.

“Ryan, it’s just a dream.” Shane said urgently, throat feeling tight, stroking the younger man’s teary cheek, while his other hand brushed a stray lock of hair away from Ryan’s sweaty forehead. 

Ryan breathed out a sigh of relief before leaning into his touch, shallow puffs of breath tickling Shane’s hand. Shane felt his own breath stutter when the younger man suddenly nuzzled his face into his hand, trembling lips pressing on his palm gently, almost like a kiss. 

Shane felt like his heart was in a vice. “It’s just a dream, baby. Just a dream,” Shane murmured, low and soothing, thumbing Ryan’s tears away. “I’m here baby, you’re okay.” 

Shane kept caressing Ryan’s cheek and stroking his hair while he repeated himself, kept repeating those exact words until Ryan’s breath evened out, finally falling back in a deeper, and hopefully dreamless sleep. 

It was a while before Shane ceased touching him, hands reluctantly returning to his lap as he stared at him. He watched him for a while, can’t help noting how Ryan always looked so much younger in his sleep.

He had taken a video of Ryan sleeping in the airport once, and could vividly recall the odd feeling he felt at seeing the normally erratic man looking so peaceful and calm. The sight did something to him, he’s not sure what, but he remembered how it sent a disquieting flutter in his chest. 

He could feel it right now, except the effect was stronger, almost overwhelming.

Shane shook his head, vehemently trying to clear his head from his muddled thoughts before getting up from Ryan’s bed and silently padding to the bathroom to freshen up. When he was done, he cast a quick glance at the clock on the wall and saw that it was only half past seven. They didn’t have a shooting until noon, so Ryan could sleep in for a bit. In fact, fuck it, he was going to tell Devon that they should push it even later—maybe even schedule it for tomorrow instead. Ryan definitely needed a break from all the spooky crap, even if it's just for a little while. 

Shane exited the bathroom and glanced at Ryan. The younger man was still sleeping peacefully—wet lashes were resting against tear stained cheeks, pink lips slightly parted, dark hair fanned out like a halo on the pillow.

Shane tore his gaze away and swallowed down the dry feeling in his throat. He got dressed quietly, grabbed the car keys and stepped out of the hotel room before closing the door slowly behind him. 

He wasn’t sure if Ryan would remember having a nightmare—but he had a sneaking suspicion that even if he did, he would either not acknowledge it at all or actually try to apologize to Shane for disturbing him. Ryan was irrational like that, could never understand that there was no need to apologize—that Shane never did see comforting Ryan as a chore. Shane didn’t know how to explain that to him. Wasn’t sure if he’ll ever be able to. 

The sky was still mostly dark, with a hint of orange rays from the sun. It was a little bit colder than he anticipated, but he shrugged it off. Taco Bell was probably open right now—it was still breakfast hours and for some reason they were stricter here, refusing to serve the lunch menu until eleven or so—but maybe if he asked nicely, and slid the kid at the counter a couple of extra bucks, they would consider making him the cheesy gordita crunch—that would really cheer Ryan up. 

-  
  


Ryan stirred awake, felt the tendrils of sleep fading rapidly the moment he’s hit with the full warmth of the sunlight on his eyelids. He turned his head to bury his face into his pillow, ready to drift off to sleep again when he suddenly smelled something delicious. 

He mentally shook himself, to further rouse himself into lucidity before opening his eyes, squinting a little in the brightness of the room. 

“Morning, Ryan.” 

“Mmm...” Ryan mumbled, rubbing his eyes, before suddenly noticing that his cheeks felt a little tacky. He rubbed his cheek again and realized it was because he had tear tracks on it. _Fuck,_ did he cry in his sleep? 

Ryan groggily sat up and tried to recall his dream. Bits and pieces of it were coming back to him, and it struck him how silly it all seemed in broad daylight. The fear he felt had been so visceral, the danger so imminent, he had even cried about it in his sleep. Jesus, he really needed to get his shit together.

Ryan internally groaned, burying his face in his hands. He can’t help but feel a flush of embarrassment when he recalled the part of his dream where he called out for Shane and actually imagined his touch so vividly. God, he hoped he didn’t actually shout out for the older man out loud—he probably didn’t, since Shane’s acting pretty normal right now. If Shane knew about it, he would have never let him live it down. 

Immediately feeling more awake, Ryan tried to discreetly wipe at his cheeks, sneaking a look at Shane, hoping he didn’t notice. The older man wasn’t even looking at him, was busy sorting through the bags of food.

“You went to Taco Bell?” Ryan asked, mildly surprised. Shane never got up this early before, let alone go out and get them breakfast. 

“Yup, go brush your teeth.” Shane said lightly, setting down the Taco Bell bags on his bed. 

Ryan can’t help but make a little pleased sound, before getting out of bed and doing just that. 

Ryan got out of the bathroom a short while later and saw Shane sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed, sipping his coffee. He patted the space next to him, before fumbling for the remote and turning on the tv. 

Ryan joined him, taking the wraps offered to him with a small thanks, before unwrapping one and taking a huge bite of his taco—he can’t help but moan a little when he got a full hit of it’s flavor.

Shane let out a long suffering sigh and threw a napkin at him. “Careful, don’t get any of that on my bed.” 

“Shouldn’t have invited me to your bed then.” Ryan replied with his mouth full. He did scoot forward a little bit, so if he did spill anything it would just get on the floor. 

Shane started flipping through the channels, and Ryan had just taken another big bite before he suddenly heard, _"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster."_

Ryan let out a muffled squeal, mouth too full to say anything, but Shane seemed to have understood him, because he didn’t change the channel.

“Okay, guess were watching _Goodfellas_.” Shane said, stuffing a few french fries in his mouth. “I don’t get why you like it though, it’s overrated.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ryan exclaimed, putting down his taco. “It’s like one of the best films ever made, man.” 

“Seems like a typical gangster movie to me—” 

“No it’s not, it’s Scorsese’s finest—”

“It’s literally just a film about the well-trodden subject of mob violence—”

“No it’s not, Shane.” Ryan argued, shaking his head. 

“Yes it is, Ryan,” Shane replied easily, popping another fry in his mouth. “A gangster film filled with mayhem and machismo. There’s like hundreds of them.” 

“Well, sure there’s a lot of mob movies out there, but none of them manage to do exactly what _Goodfellas_ pulls off,” Ryan insisted, scooting back a little to face the older man. “ _Goodfellas_ shows what makes a life in the mob enticing, why so many people make the decision to join it in the first place—the movie just sucks you into the high life and spits you out the other end, while still maintaining its verve and humour even after the good times stop rolling,” Ryan continued. “Most mob films tend to glorify the mob lifestyle, but Scorsese makes you feel the filth and pressure of what that life is actually like.”

Shane hummed a little. “Huh. I never thought of it like that.” Shane said, looking at him with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Also the fast paced editing is just great,” Ryan continued enthusiastically. “Thelma Schoonmaker really kept it tight—the wall to wall narration, the seamless way that each shot transitions into the other.” Ryan gushed, scooting in even closer. “And like, sure, Scorsese adds a whole lot of catholic guilt mixed with a sort of morbid glamorization of the life, but at least he never tried to moralize the characters. He just approaches them so that you can understand who they are and come to your own conclusions—uh, sorry, I’m rambling.” Ryan cut himself abruptly with an embarrassed laugh, when he finally noticed that Shane was watching him with an amused look in his eyes.

Shane popped another fry in his mouth. “It's fine, I like hearing you talk.” he replied, before suddenly pausing mid-chew. The older man’s eyes widened a little, like he didn’t mean to say that out loud. 

Ryan blinked in surprise. “Aw, Shane,” he said, feeling a smile tug at the edges of his mouth.

“It’s not—I don’t—” Shane stuttered, before he swallowed audibly and cleared his throat. “I just mean that—it’s nice to hear you flex your film theory skills, instead of your usual conspiracy nonsense,” Shane added, a light flush creeping across his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“Sure,” Ryan hummed, ignoring the slight insult, scooting back even further to lean against the headboard. “You’re so sweet.” Ryan said, his voice teasing, but his sentiment was genuine and he hoped to convey that to Shane.

“Whatever, shut up.” Shane retorted, rolling his eyes, before looking away and stuffing more fries into his mouth, cheeks still tinted pink.

Ryan huffed out a little laugh. Shane says the sweetest things sometimes, without even realizing it. He can’t help but find it kind of adorable—just a tiny bit. 

They watched the movie in relative silence, only occasionally making some inane comment on certain scenes—Shane admitted that he did enjoy some of the iconic ones, although he had plenty to say about the sexism and brutality throughout the film. Ryan didn’t argue with that, he knows the film had its flaws. 

“It’s kind of hot, though,” Ryan said off-handedly, chewing through a mouthful of his taco. 

“What’s hot?”

“How she asked for money and he just pulls out a wad of cash for her.” Ryan said, stuffing the last bit of the taco into his mouth.

Shane raised an eyebrow. “You find it hot when someone gives you money?”

“What, no—” Ryan wheezed, trying his best not to spray his taco everywhere. “Although, come to think of it, yeah, I’d love for someone to just hand me money. But no, uh, that’s not what I meant—”

“So what did you mean?”

“Nevermind, forget about it.”

“No Ryan, I wanna know what you meant—”

“Forget about it,” Ryan repeated, this time in Al Pacino’s accent. 

“That’s the worst impression ever,” Shane said with a laugh. “Come on, man, just tell me.” 

Ryan swallowed a small noise in his throat as he felt his cheeks grow warm. He wished he hadn’t said anything. “Nothing, it’s stupid...and kinda sexist.” Ryan admitted, feeling sheepish. 

“What, you afraid of saying something not PC all of the sudden? Come on, tell me.” Shane wheedled, scooting back a little to lean against the headboard as well, looking at Ryan expectantly. 

Ryan sighed a little before giving in. “Nothing... I was just saying, it’s kinda hot, in a fucked up way—like she asked him for money and when he gave it to her she immediately gets down on the floor to blow him—and like, he’s just so casual about it.” Ryan said, grabbing another wrap. “It's a simple, understated way of showing the power imbalance in the movie—but yeah, mostly I just think it’s. Hot.” Ryan finished awkwardly, looking at Shane. 

Shane stared at him for a moment before wheezing, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“I knew I shouldn’t have said anything,” Ryan groaned, feeling more than a little embarassed. “Ok, I take it back, it’s stupid—”

“No it’s not, it’s hilarious.” Shane wheezed, cocking his head at Ryan. “And maybe just a little bit sexy. You really get off on the power imbalance thing, huh?”

Ryan shrugged a little and started unwrapping his second taco, willing himself to not blush. “Maybe.” 

Shane made a thoughtful noise. “ Well, everything makes sense now.” 

“What makes sense?” Ryan asked, before taking a bite of his taco. 

“Why you never have any cash on you.”

Ryan nearly spat out his taco. “Oh, fuck you, Shane—” 

“So, you were just hoping for something like that to happen, huh—”

“Oh, my God, shut up—”

“—just waiting for daddy to give you a wad of cash—”

Ryan’s breath stuttered. “No, I wasn’t—” 

“All this time, I thought it was just because you’re too lazy to go to the ATM—” 

“I do go to the ATM!”

“Ryan, I can list down five places we just went where they don’t accept cards and I had to pay for you cause you only had what, two dollars in your pocket—”

“I always pay you back, you jerk—” Ryan retorted indignantly, before pausing a little. “Wait, five? Shit, sorry, Shane.”

“It’s okay, man.” Shane replied easily, a teasing smile on his lips. “At least now I know you got a kick out of it.” 

Ryan was just about to whack Shane over his head with the rest of his taco when he suddenly heard their hotel room door open.

“You guys should really lock your door, we’re in Baltimore.” Devon said absently, leaning against the door. 

“Good morning to you too, Dev.” Shane called out, grinning at her. 

“Morning,” Devon replied, not missing a beat. “Just wanted to tell you guys that they’re fine with the time change, so it’s all good.” 

Ryan frowned a little, before sitting up straight. “Wait, what—”

“Okay, that’s great.” Shane replied quickly, cutting him off mid sentence. “Thanks, Dev.”

“Alright, see you guys later.”

Devon gave them a little wave before shutting the door.

“Shane, what time change.” Ryan asked him testily.

Shane cleared his throat a little. “I uh... I told Dev to push the shoot a little later today—we’re shooting at four instead.”

“Shane what the fuck,” Ryan groaned, flopping back harshly against Shane’s pillow. “Why did you do that?” 

“It’s just a few hours Ryan, it’s no big deal.”

Ryan lifted his head a little to shoot Shane a dirty look. “It is a big deal,” he muttered. “Were on a tight schedule, you can’t just make last minute changes—” 

“I just thought we could use the down time, what’s wrong with that?” Shane replied, sounding exasperated. “You—uh, we all had a rough night, I just thought it’ll be better if we just relaxed for a bit.”

Ryan paused for a beat, before relenting. “Fine, but you should’ve asked me first.” Ryan huffed. “We’re—we’re partners, Shane. Were supposed to decide things together.” Ryan said haltingly, feeling miffed.

Shane made a discontented noise. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Ryan.” he said, looking a little contrite. 

“It’s fine.” Ryan mumbled, letting his head drop back fully onto Shane’s pillow. “Just promise me you won’t make anymore changes without talking to me about it first, okay.” 

“I promise.” 

Ryan sighed, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, he did feel tired—it would be nice to chill for a bit, before investigating another haunted place. 

Ryan could feel himself beginning to drift off, when he suddenly felt Shane’s thumb gliding on his cheek—the sudden slide of warm skin against his face was almost electrifying, his pulse practically jumping in response. 

Ryan’s eyes fluttered open. He stared at Shane, giving him a questioning look. 

“You had, uh. You had sauce on your face.” Shane said simply, in response to his silent question.

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” Ryan replied, closing his eyes again with a soft hum. 

“No problem.” 

A moment later, Ryan heard rustling movements and felt the weight of the bed shifting. Curious, he opened his eyes and was startled to find Shane’s face hovering above his own. The older man had propped his elbow on the pillow and had leaned in close, so close that Ryan could see flecks of hazel in his brown eyes.

“Does it still hurt?” Shane asked quietly, after a beat. “Your cut?” Shane elaborated when Ryan made a little questioning sound at him. 

“Oh. Um, no, not really.” Ryan said, suddenly feeling nervous for no reason. “Why, does it look bad?” Ryan asked. He felt his breath stutter when he saw Shane reaching for his face.

Ryan wasn’t especially ticklish, at least not on his face, but he couldn’t help but tense up a little when Shane’s finger suddenly traced his cheek. He resisted the urge to squirm under the older man’s intent gaze, obligingly holding himself still for Shane’s inspection. 

“No, but you should still put a bandage on it, before we go out.” Shane murmured, finger still gently tracing along his cheekbone, right below the cut. 

Ryan felt his face flare with heat, felt his heart pumping harder at the feeling of Shane’s careful touch. He stifled it, though, tamped it down with nothing more than a quiet sigh, as he waited for Shane to finish inspecting.

“Your bruise is healing up pretty well,” Shane continued. “But it’s still a little red. You sure it doesn’t hurt?” Shane asked, low voice tinged with concern, finger now caressing the edge of his bruise, applying the slightest bit of pressure. 

Ryan made a small, strangled sound before lowering his eyes, not really trusting himself to answer the older man just yet. He didn’t understand the sudden tight feeling in his chest—like a strange, yet sort of familiar burn kindling inside of him. 

At Shane’s soft, inquiring hum, Ryan’s eyes finally flashed up to Shane’s for a brief moment. “No it—it doesn’t hurt, not anymore.” Ryan heard himself answer, though he’s never heard his voice sounding so soft—it’s almost a mimic of a whisper. He immediately turned his head a little on Shane’s pillow, involuntarily letting out a slight shiver.

Ryan wondered if he imagined the slight hitch in Shane’s breath, how his hazel eyes suddenly darkened a little.

“Good.” Shane replied after a beat, voice sounding strained. “That’s good.” Shane repeated himself, finally removing his finger from his face. He gave Ryan a quick smile, before tearing his gaze away from Ryan’s and leaning back against the headboard to stare at the TV. 

Ryan turned his gaze towards the TV as well, ignoring the slight tingling he felt in his cheeks. He tried to concentrate on the movie, but he couldn't help but replay Shane’s touch on his face—he could’ve sworn it felt almost identical to the touch in his dream, but that can’t be right. Ryan shook his head, willing himself to breathe normally. He was just imagining things. 

Ryan was startled a little when Shane suddenly started singing along to the Jerry Vale scene.

 _“Pretend you don't love her,”_ Shane sang, voice going falsetto. _“Pretend you don't see her at aaaallll…”_

“Oh, my god shut up,” Ryan giggled, raising his arm to whack Shane. “You suck—”

Shane snorted, grabbing his hand mid-whack. “You know I sound good, admit it.” Shane said with a smirk, fingers clamped lightly around his wrist.

Ryan ignored the strange feeling in his gut at seeing how easily the older man’s fingers circle his entire wrist. “Never,” Ryan retorted, grinning up at him. 

Shane narrowed his eyes at him a little, before sticking his tongue out, threatening to lick the hand that he captured. 

“Gross! Shane, let go—” Ryan wheezed, pulling his arm away. 

Shane resisted, holding his hand hostage for a moment longer before finally letting him go, huffing out a small laugh. 

Ryan let out a happy sigh, burying his face in Shane’s pillow a little. He was becoming aware that he was slowly dozing off, from feeling so relaxed and comfortable—he had a good breakfast, and is currently watching one of his favourite gangster films with his best friend in bed. What's not to like? 

Ryan couldn’t help but feel a smile growing on his face, even as his eyes began to flutter shut. 

It was still early, but he could already tell it was going to be a good day.

_It's too late for running, my heart, chin up if the tears start to fall;_

_Pretend you don't love her, pretend you don't see her at all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> beta-ed by @loveontherocks!
> 
> This chapter was supposed to be a bit longer but I decided to split it in half, so that it can end on a chill, relaxed note with just the boys flirting and ~~slowly falling for each other~~
> 
> \- the next one will feature (spoilers) haunted bars, mild role playing and also your favorite literary foil, Prof Shane. Stay tuned!
> 
> Drop kudos/comments if you had fun ^^ 
> 
> Mini Update: (28 March) 
> 
> I was hoping to get the new chap out by this week, but due to some unforeseen circumstances (lockdown & covid related, won’t bore u with details) I’m a little busy this weekend from helping my extended fam out. Will update by the first week of April. Stay safe y’all. 
> 
> If you’re bored, come say hi on  
> [tumblr](https://the-czar.tumblr.com)


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